Love Is The New Hate
by apathyempathy
Summary: Santana isn't as tough as everyone thinks. It only takes one weekend for Rachel to figure that out.PezBerry.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - This my first glee-fic, I couldn't resist writing some Pezberry. I should include a warning that this chapter includes some swearing and deals with racism. This is also the first thing i have written in ages and all mistakes are my own. I have written the first five chapters or so but with no plan just seeing where my brain takes me. As always reviews are very much welcomed/encourage! : )**

**Chapter One**

It was Thursday night, and exhausted from hours of rehearsals all Santana wanted to do was crawl up the stairs to her room and take a long hot shower. Well, that would be the case if she didn't have to share it with the most annoying girl on the planet. How she had gotten stuck sharing a small enclosed space with Rachel Berry was beyond her, and as soon as she decided to start speaking to Britney again she was going to find out exactly how the room arrangements had gotten so tremendously fucked up. Running a hand through her hair the Latina let out a loud yawn, she hadn't been this tired since Coach Sylvester had made them pull double practices in the lead up to Nationals and at least then she had been able to sleep in her own bed. Santana couldn't help but wonder for the hundredth time that day exactly what she had let herself into, sure she loved being a part of Glee but giving up her weekend to perform at some random-ass competition in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere was looking like a step to far.

Finally reaching the elevator Santana noticed some of the members of a rival school milling around, casting a quick glance at the stairs she decided she was way to tired to heave her aching body up the flight of concrete and besides she was Santana Lopez, even if she was out numbered she had more than enough retorts saved up to put these jerks away if they tried to give her shit.

Leaning against a wall she waited for the elevator to arrive, already envisioning the hot shower that awaited her and blocking out the images of Rachel, the brunette almost missed the laughs coming from the group in front of her. Laughs that seemed to be aimed in her direction, though she quickly dismissed this thought as paranoia. No-one laughed at her, not anymore anyway.

The welcome sound of the elevator doors opening pulled Santana away from her thoughts and she quickly hurried inside, followed by a handful of others. Pushing the button for her floor and cursing that she had ended up one of the top levels she turned her back to the strangers in the lift and tried to block out their mindless chatter. If there was anything she hated more than being tired it was pointless yapping from mindless idiots.

Except that it wasn't mindless chatter, Santana frowned as she realised for the first time exactly what they were saying.

'Okay, okay…I got one. Why don't Mexican's cross the border in threes?' an overly loud voice boomed out.

A chill ran down Santana's spine as she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She already knew the punch-line to this joke; she had most of them engraved on her brain from various small minded assholes she had met in her life. She willed the lift to move faster.

'Because the sign says…no tres-passing!'

The group behind her broke out into loud obnoxious laughter, and she could feel their stares drilling into her back, begging her to react.

'Wait, I got a better one' another voice popped up, malice laced in with her laughter 'Did you hear about the winner of the Mexican beauty contest...No...Me neither!'

Again, laughter broke out but this time Santana felt a distinct shove making her stumble forward, only her quick reactions stopping her from falling against the door in front of her.

'Hey, watch it' she growled, casting her patented glare behind her.

'Dude watch out, you'll make the loser mad…then who's gonna clean your room in the morning?'

Santana heard the sound of a high-five but couldn't bring herself to turn around, she wanted to yell and scream at the small-minded bigots but every clever retort she had seemed to leave her. Holding her fists by her side in anger she could feel herself shaking, but it wasn't just the usual anger that simmered beneath the surface. This was something she hadn't felt in a long time it was humiliation, hurt and shame that she couldn't think of a single thing to say. She had worked long and hard to earn her reputation at McKinley as someone not to be messed with, but here in this elevator it didn't mean squat if she couldn't channel her inner bitch when she needed it most.

'What's the matter, lost for words?' came another jibe 'Or don't you speak English?'

Santana whirled round at this, rage barely contained, to face the group. Two guys and three girls were staring back at her, smirks emblazed on their faces as they looked her up and down in disgust. Standing tall against their hateful eyes the Latina snarled 'I speak English just fine, asshole'

'Whoa she's got a temper' one of guys said as he squared up to her.

'Don't get to close you'll catch something' one of the girls sneered, pulling him away.

The sound of the lift doors opening suddenly drew Santana's attention as she realised they had finally reached her floor; if she had been religious she would have been sending prayers out at that moment. As it was she was too distracted by a voice behind her to think of much else.

'Santana!' came Rachel's shrill voice, even this annoyance was a welcome relief.

The brunette turned to face to diva, who had most of the other glee members traipsing behind her, and was surprised to feel a wave of relief at the familiar faces. All she could think about was getting away from these jerks and pretending this whole thing had never happened. She was good at denial; she'd had a lot of practise over the years.

Unfortunately for Santana she was so wrapped up in her own escapism that she didn't hear the nasty chuckle from one of guys, just before he shoved her violently from the elevator. Stumbling forward she winced as she fell to the floor, her knees landing painfully on the old carpet and scrapping against the worn fabric, she managed to get her hands out in time to stop herself splaying completely onto the floor.

The sound of laughter behind her as the doors slammed shut again cut through her like a knife, turning around she saw them disappear but not before one of the girls yelled 'Better clean up while your down there, dirty fucking Mexican bitch'

The silence that followed was deafening as shock reverberated around the room causing almost a stand-off between Santana and the rest of the glee club, all of whom were at a loss for words. She couldn't bring herself to look up. She had spent so long building her reputation as a badass and she couldn't stand to see the way they were looking at her now but worst of all she couldn't think of a way to redeem herself, especially as she felt the tears begin to build up.

'S?' It was Quinn who spoke first, taking a tentative step towards her.

It was then Santana realised she was still on the floor, pulling herself quickly to her feet she ignored the pain and blood stain on the carpet where she had been and took a deep breath. It didn't help much, and did nothing to stop the tears that were now falling down her cheeks. Muttering something incomprehensible Santana pushed her way through the group, shrugging off Quinn's comforting touch the Latina headed for her room.

'Santana'

It was Mercedes this time who tried to get her attention but the Latina refused to face her friends, her cheeks burning with humiliation.

'Leave me alone' Santana shouted, she hadn't meant it to sound so broken but as she finally made her way to her room and slammed the door behind her, that was exactly how she felt. With her back against the door she slid to the ground, hands covering her face and allowed the sobs to come.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – First off a massive thank you for all the reviews, I'm really glad people are enjoying this story. This chapter is one of the longer ones I've written so far but for some reason writing PezBerry seems to come pretty easily. **

**I'll warn you guys now I'm giving Santana multiple issues along with race issue's raised in the first chapter so be warned, I'm going to give her a tough time. She's a fun character to explore and a lot of this story comes from me wanted to see her be a little more three dimensional on the actual show : )**

**Anyway, here's chapter two enjoy and as always reviews are welcomed with open arms!**

**Chapter Two**

She wasn't sure when or how she had made it to her bed but the comfort she had been imagining earlier offered little to her now as she curled into a tight ball on top of the covers. The room felt cold and empty as she lay there, trying to block out all the old memories that threatened to surface, memories of her early days at school when she wasn't Santana Lopez, super-bitch but Santana Lopez, freak.

Shaking her head as if to disperse the thoughts she jumped at the sound of a knock on the door. When she didn't answer there came a second knock before the sound of someone entering the room drew her attention.

'Sorry…I just needed my bag' Rachel said quietly, gesturing to a horrendously bright bag by the other bed in the room.

For her part Santana nodded and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling, the patterns blurring together as her eyes continued to water but she forced herself to stem the tears, there was no way she was going to cry in front of Rachel Berry. Not again.

'It it makes you feel any better Puck is threatening to go bust that guys kneecaps and I think Quinn might go pre-baby bitch on those girls, you know if no-one else beats her to it'

It should have made Santana feel better that she had people willing to defend her honour but all it did was make her feel worse, she shouldn't need people to stick up for her she was supposed to be the strong one. Not the girl who couldn't seem to stop crying. She still couldn't believe they had all seen her like that.

'You're bleeding all over your bed' Rachel stated, her blunt statement drawing the cheerleader's attention and causing her to stare in disbelief.

'Right' the Latina scoffed, 'Well luckily I'm the right person to clean it up, don't worry I'll make sure to clean the whole room'

Santana heard Rachel scurry over to her side of the room. While half of her prayed the diva would collect her things and go, a tiny voice in the back of her brain wanted her to stay which made the cheerleader let out a derisive chuckle, she must be upset if she wanted Berry as company. It was no secret from anyone that the two had never gotten along, so Santana was almost certain the diva would grab her things and make a quick run for the door.

'Move over'

The demand caught Santana by surprise even more so was the fact that she obliged and soon after felt Rachel sit down next to her 'What are you doing?'

'You'll get infected it you leave it like this' Rachel blabbered, her confidence undermined as she snuck a questioning look at the cheerleader, gesturing to her bloodied knees.

Santana frowned but gave the smaller girl a nod to continue. She managed to suppress the grunt of pain but couldn't help but wince as she felt the cold cloth come into contact with her raw skin.

'Sorry' the smaller girl whispered, continuing her delicate task.

As she felt Rachel begin to bandage her cuts Santana shut her eyes and let out a sigh.

'Are…are you okay?' Rachel asked nervously.

'Fine' Santana replied sharply, 'I'm just so sick of people like that'

The words had left her mouth before she had a chance to think, and with a quick snap shut of her mouth the cheerleader wondered just how much damage control she was going to have to do to get her badass reputation back. She wasn't accustomed to sharing her feelings with anyone, especially not the girl next to her. But she was also unaccustomed to being humiliated so what the hell, in for a penny in for a pound. She could always scare the diva into silence, and right now Santana could use someone to vent to.

Rachel seemed to sense a change in the other girl and offered a sympathetic smile 'I know what you mean'

The two shared a knowing look and as Santana pulled herself up to rest on her elbows she found herself being stared at intently by the pint-size diva.

'What?' Santana asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

'Nothing I just…wouldn't you rather I went and found Britney or Quinn?'

Santana let out a bitter laugh 'No, they wouldn't understand…they don't know what it's like to be judged like that. And I know Quinn had the whole pregnant outcast thing going on, but it's not the same. At the end of the day they're both skinny, blonde white girls. Besides' she added with a shrug 'I don't want to upset Britney'

Rachel nodded at this, and Santana could practically see her processing the unfamiliar situation and compiling a thousand questions. But rather than spew a monologue of epic proportions as she was accustom to the smaller girl simply nodded and continued her delicate task of repairing the damage that had been inflicted.

The two girls were quiet for a moment, the only sound filling the room was the faint music coming from the room next door. Santana closed her eyes as she felt Rachel's hands move across her skin, the careful touch a stark contrast to the angry red of her own. Swallowing subconsciously the cheerleader wondered if she wasn't enjoying the feel of the other girl a little to much, she should have been uncomfortable letting Berry look after her like this but it didn't feel as wrong as she thought it would. In fact the only thing that felt weird was not knowing why the other girl was helping her.

'Okay, all done' Rachel chirped, suddenly withdrawing her hands and admiring her work.

Sitting up so her back was resting against the headboard Santana smiled gratefully, 'Thanks'

'You're welcome'

Santana watched the other girl begin to tidy together the rest of the first aid kit. She wanted to ask her why she had helped but instead she blurted out, 'So. Juan, Carlos and Antonio all jump off a cliff to see who'll hit the ground first, who wins?'

Rachel's head snapped up at this, confusion etched across her features 'What?'

'Society' Santana deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked down sadly 'I learnt that one from one of my teachers in middle school. He probably didn't know I was listening but…oh I got another one, this ones great I got it from one of my friends mum's, what's the difference between a bench and a Mexican?'

'Santana I don't-'

'A bench can support a family' the Latina finished, the fake upbeat edge in her voice making them both wince 'I got a ton of these, maybe I should go teach those jerks I'm sure I've got a ton they won't have heard before'

Rachel looked at Santana before shifting her weight on the bed so she was sitting next to her 'You really heard a teacher say that? And someone's mum?'

Santana nodded, the angry spark she had felt before dying down again 'I guess it's just what I get for living in Lima, small town small mind'

'Not everyone thinks like that' Rachel defended 'And I hate to point this out…but you're not exactly above making jokes about other people, I distinctly remember you telling me to move back to Israel'

In any normal situation Santana would have punched Berry for pointing out her hypocrisies but she simply didn't have the energy 'If you spend enough time deflecting onto everyone else eventually people kind of forget you're different too'

Rachel frowned at this 'So essentially what your saying is you pick on others to make yourself feel better…that's kind of cliché'

'I don't do it to feel better' Santana replied, 'I…I just-'

'You just what?' the diva pressed, her voice tentative rather than angry.

Santana sighed, it had been a long time since she'd thought about her life pre-cheerios and she was pretty sure if you asked anyone at McKinley High what Santana Lopez had been like before, not one of them would be able to tell you. She had worked hard to get away from the person she had been when her family had first moved to Lima and to create the image she had for herself now. The only problem was she didn't really feel like herself anymore, she had spent so long building up a front that even thinking about her life before made her feel weak.

'Sorry, I shouldn't have pried' Rachel whispered, her voice dragging the cheerleader back from her thoughts. Taking a quick look at the other girl she made to stand up but a hand on her arm kept her in place.

'It's okay' the brunette sighed, pulling the singer back to her original position 'I never made those jokes to feel better. I did it because if I did then it gave me power, it's dog eat dog out there Berry and I'm not about to spend anymore time at the bottom of the social heap'

'So that makes it okay to torment everyone, to-'Rachel stopped suddenly 'Wait, any more time at the bottom? What's that supposed to mean?'

'I had a rough time when I moved here okay? New school, new people…I didn't fit in and everyone was quick to point it out to me'

'So you became a bully?' Rachel accused, anger evident in her voice 'You just pick on the defenceless-'

'They're not defenceless!' Santana argued.

'Of course they are, everyone you target is a loner they-'

'At least they speak fucking English' Santana yelled, the pain in her voice silencing the singers rant 'At least they know what I'm saying to them, they aren't some little kid who's to scared and fucking confused to do anything when everyone picks on her and makes her feel like a freak!'

Silence hung between the two girls as Santana watch Rachel come to terms with what she had heard, the cheerleader let out a loud sign wiping angrily at the tears that had begun to fall again. She had never told anyone about her early years in Lima, she figured most of the kids from that school weren't really in her life anymore which made it a lot easier to pretend all those horrible things had happened to someone else.

'English isn't your first language?' Rachel asked, though the cheerio could tell form her tone it was more of a statement 'How old were you?'

Santana bit her lip as she debated how much of herself she was willing to put out there to a girl she had tormented, but something about the other girl seemed genuine and caring and it was a long time since someone other than Britney had showed any kind of friendship towards her. She had scared so many people away she had forgotten how good it felt to connect with someone, not that she would ever admit that it was with Rachel 'I was five when my family moved here and when I started school…the only word I knew was duck, which was surprisingly useless. No one really knew what to do with me, the kids all avoided me to start with then as we got a little older they figured if I couldn't tell on them then they could get away with whatever they liked'

'That's awful' the singer said frowning.

Santana shrugged, trying to look nonchalant 'I guess, the teachers all ignored me but it was lucky in a way they always let me do my own thing and that's when I met Britney. They didn't really know what do with her either'

'I thought you guys meet on the cheerios?'

'That's what everyone thinks and I let them, it's easier than explaining the truth' Santana replied with a ghost of a smile as she continued 'Britney is the one person in my life who has always stood by me. She stood up to the kids when I couldn't and she taught me a lot-'

'Seriously?' Rachel interrupted, immediately regretting her decision as she saw the other girls eyes flash with anger.

'Yes' came the firm answer 'People might think she's stupid but she's not. Britney knows people, she's kind and loyal and she protected me when no one else would. That's why I will always stand up for her, I owe her a lot…there's not a lot of people who can say there best friend taught them English'

'She taught you English?' Rachel queried, smiling at the thought of the two young girls trying to communicate.

'Yeah…well probably not on purpose but yeah, she sat with me in lessons and she invited me over to her house. Her poor mum had no idea what to do with me but they all welcomed me and then things weren't so bad anymore. I learnt to defend myself eventually or I thought I had-'

'Santana, you're the scariest person in the entire school…well apart from Coach Sylvester but you're a close second' Rachel interrupted, 'You'll go down in history as being the girl who convinced the principal to lend you his car so you could go to the drive-thru in the middle of study period'

The cheerleader shrugged a brief smile playing at her lips. Picking at a loose thread on her skirt to avoid the other girls eyes she replied 'But this isn't high school, this is the real world and it doesn't make a damn bit of difference what people think of me at McKinley'

'But your still the same person, you're just…you're in a funk!' the diva proclaimed, cringing as she saw the look Santana gave her 'Okay bad choice of words, the point is you can't let one bunch of small-minded bigots get to you, you're better than all of them. I'm not saying that you should just let what they did to you go, they deserve to pay. A lot. But don't give them the satisfaction of making you think less of yourself'

Santana frowned as she mulled over the words, she tried to ignore the fact that she was getting advice from Rachel Berry, although who better to give her a pep talk about picking herself up than the girl who had been getting put down for years. Looking at the girl next to her Santana smiled, Rachel had been dealing with this kind of crap for years too.

A sudden thought came bursting out as she process the singers words 'Does that mean you're gonna make me pay for all the things I did?'

Rachel cast a sideways glance as she pretended to think it over 'Well while it would seem appropriate for me to form some kind of a rebuttal to your many years of insults…maybe we could call a truce instead?'

Now that sounded a lot more like the Berry that Santana knew, but this time the cheerleader smiled at the words and offering a hand she nodded 'Deal'

Rachel grinned and as they shook hands the two laughed at the absurd nature of the afternoon.

'So, does this mean I have to be nice to you now?' Santana joked, smiling as she saw the diva roll her eyes melodramatically.

'Just drop the Israel jokes?' the singer asked, the seriousness betraying the casual tone 'And no more slushies?'

'Deal' Santana nodded, biting her lip nervously 'But can you just not mention what I told you to anyone?'

'You're secret's safe with me' the singer chirped.

Letting out a sigh of relief the cheerio relaxed 'Thanks. I don't exactly feel up to explaining everything to the rest of glee or seeing them for a good long while. Humiliation doesn't look good on me'

Rachel frowned at this, turning to look at the Latina she offered a comforting smile 'They'd understand you know, everyone knows what its like to be victimised and I meant what I said earlier, no one thinks any less of you. It doesn't make you weak because someone attacks you. And it doesn't make you weak to have feelings'

'I know that' Santana agreed, shifting uncomfortably 'Doesn't make it hurt any less. Everyone sees me as this emotional cripple; I'm not exactly used to dealing with this kind of thing'

'You might be a emotional handicapped' Rachel agreed, yelping at vague smack from her friend 'But you're dealing just fine'

'I forgot how funny you are Berry' Santana replied dryly.

'It's one of my many, many talents' the diva responded smiling broadly as she hopped up off the bed 'But while we could spend this time talking about my abilities, I'd rather find something to eat. Are you coming?'

'I'm not hungry' the Latina replied quickly, her lie almost drowned out by the sound of stomach rumbling. Santana had the decency to look sheepish as she shrugged 'Okay maybe I'm a little hungry. But I'm still not leaving this room'

'The Santana Lopez I know would never hide in her room' Rachel challenged 'Besides it's late I doubt anyone will be around. We can just go find something to eat and come straight back. I'll even walk ten steps behind you so no-one will see us together'

'Again, you're a funny lady' the cheerleader huffed pulling herself up from the safe haven, she was never one to back down from a challenge and especially not one from the girl in front of her 'Just let me change into some less blood-stained and we can go'

Rachel nodded curtly as she stepped aside to let the cheerios past 'Hurry up'

Rolling her eyes Santana grabbed a pair of jeans she had thrown carelessly at the end of her bed. She made no attempt to hide her modesty as she slid her skirt off and replaced it with the trousers, but she did take pride in watching the diva blush as she caught an eye full.

'Okay, enough of the free-show' Santana quipped, realising the diva hadn't exactly looked away 'Feed me'

Rachel let out a nervous chuckle as she quickly made for the door, ignoring the fact she had been more than busted 'Right'

Santana chuckled as she realised how flustered the diva was, her long rambling rants cut down to monosyllabic words. As the two exited their room Santana hesitated on the threshold, taking a quick look down the corridor before she followed Rachel. She hated to feel so unsure of herself, but she really couldn't deal with another run in with the assholes from earlier.

'You coming?' Rachel asked, turning around and motioning for Santana to catch-up.

'Yeah'

Double-checking she had her key Santana shut the door behind her and caught up with her friend, grateful that the diva made a quick beeline for the stairs. As they traipsed down the mountain of steps the cheerleader shook her head in disbelief, if anyone had told her this morning that her day would end like this she would have slushied them without a second thought but here she was about to, for all intensive purpose, go to dinner with Rachel Berry. Life did not get more surreal than this.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N – Hey guys, sorry for the short delay between updates my computer died and I had to get a new one…luckily I managed to rescue this fic, I thought I'd lost everything I'd written!**

**I forgot to mention that this fic takes places after New Directions lose at regionals, Quinn is back on the cheerios after giving up Beth and Rachel and Finn are not together.**

**A massive thanks for all the reviews/favourites/alerts they make my day :) **

**Chapter Three**

As it turned out there wasn't a whole lot open late at night in the small town, and the two girls had to settle for a pretty rundown looking diner. The twenty-four hour café was the only place to get food, but save for a few seedy looking truckers it was relatively empty. Finding a booth in the corner away from prying eyes the two girls quickly grabbed a menu.

'Dude, can you actually eat anything here?' Santana asked, as she flipped the menu over and scanned its dubious contents.

'Excuse me?'

'Well…you are vegan right? This isn't exactly vege-friendly, I think they've probably found a way to get meat into the water'

'You remembered I'm vegan?' Rachel asked in disbelief.

'I do occasionally listen when you talk' Santana replied playfully, rolling her eyes before assuming a more serious expression 'Plus the whole vocal adrenaline egging thing is kinda stuck in my memory. Assholes'

Rachel shrugged, a sad expression clouding her features as she looked down at the table dejectedly.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to drag up old memories' Santana said; biting her lip 'I have a tendency to say the wrong things. Surprising I know, after all I'm so well-known for my amazing people skills'

Rachel chuckled at this, looking up at the girl opposite her 'It's okay. I'm over it…mostly. I just feel bad for all the little chicks that got smushed'

Ignoring the divas use of the word smushed Santana turned her attention back to the menu as she grinned 'At least vocal adrenaline got what was coming to them'

'Winning regionals?' the diva asked sarcastically.

'Not that, just…I heard someone might have switched all of the pretty boys hair products with hair removal cream. I hear he wore a lovely hat to perform his big number at nationals'

'Wait, are you saying that was you?' Rachel shrieked, drawing the attention of some of the patrons, she had seen the pictures of Vocal Adrenaline performing a Queen mash-up and wondered why Jessie was sporting an ill-advised baseball cap.

Santana smirked 'I'm saying you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. We're a team right?'

'Huh' Rachel choked out staring at the girl opposite her in disbelief, 'I never thought I'd see the day that Santana Lopez stuck up for me'

'Yeah, yeah' Santana shrugged off with a grin 'You tell anyone and I'll deny it, I'm not quite ready to face the wrath of Jesse St douche bag and the rest of those clowns for you just yet'

The diva raised an eyebrow 'Yet?'

'Don't push your luck' the cheerleader replied, the warning tone of her voice undermined by the smile on her face.

'Can I get you ladies anything?' came a bored voice.

Looking up Santana was met with the equally bored face of the only waitress in the diner, who could have single-handedly won any stereotype contest with her gum-chewing and foot-tapping.

'Can I get the number two please, extra fries and a large soda? Oh and some onion rings' came the ever-happy Rachel who managed to miss the look of shock on Santana's face.

'You're gonna eat all that?' the cheerleader enquired, sizing up her friend 'How are you gonna eat all that?'

'I'm hungry' the diva replied as if it were the most obvious things in the world.

Santana laughed as she turned to the waitress, trying to pretend her stomach wasn't aching with hunger, she shook her head as if to focus 'Just a small sparkling water please, and erm…a green salad. No dressing'

Handing the menu's back to the waitress the cheerleader knew Rachel wouldn't be able to stay silent.

'That's what you're ordering? It's the middle of the night, you skipped lunch which I did notice by the way so don't try to deny it, and all you're going to eat is a salad?'

'I'm training' mumbled Santana 'If I don't watch what I eat I'll lose my spot at the top of the pyramid, besides with Quinn back on the squad I can't afford to slack off she's already got the edge on me in Coach Sylvester's books'

'I thought the whole teenage pregnancy kind of ended Quinn's chances, she didn't exactly get a sending off party, and in fact if I remember correctly she was all but thrown out the squad'

'That was last year. The baby's gone and Coach knows the best chance we have at making her look good is to win Nationals again, and this time with the all-American poster child'

'But your better than her' Rachel blurted out, gesturing angrily 'You won Nationals without her this year'

Santana ignored the strange feeling that developed in the pit of her stomach as she heard the star compliment her, putting it down to hunger pangs she sighed 'Maybe, but Sue Sylvester always gets what she wants and what she wants is a head cheerleader she can promote. Which means if I want any chance of keeping my status as head cheerleader than I have to work twice as hard, and that means lots of stupid salad'

'Here's your food ladies' interrupted the waitress, dropping the suspiciously fast made

food heavily on the table 'Enjoy'

Santana was grateful for the interlude as she picked up her fork and poked at her unappetising meal already wishing she had at least gotten the dressing. Casting an envious glance at the piles of fried goodness opposite her the cheerio knew she had been caught out when the singer pushed a plate of fries in her direction.

'Here take one' Rachel insisted, 'I think my eyes were bigger than my belly'

If Santana hadn't known any better she would have thought that the girl had purposely ordered too much in a pre-emptive gesture. Pushing the plate away the cheerleader tried to remain strong 'I'm fine, really'

'Right, sure you are…if you stare any harder at my plate it's going to burst into flames' the diva ranted with a playful grin.

'I'm not staring'

'Eat the fries' Rachel stated, her tone more serious now 'You can't let Sue get in your head like this, you are the most talented person on that squad and you don't need to be stuck eating that abomination against food when there are perfectly edible and much more delicious alternatives right here'

Santana again ignored the compliment and strange feelings it brought to her, and instead chose to retort with thinly veiled anger 'She's not in my head'

The lie sounded about as convincing as Kurt's attempts to play it straight and Santana cursed her inability to hide her feelings from the singer, it was as though today she was living in some parallel universe where Rachel fricking Berry could see right through her.

'Prove it'

Two simple words that normally Santana would have no trouble rising to, in fact she relished a challenge, but this was different. She'd spent a lot of time working on her tried and tested diet plan, her methodical workout routine and more than enough time calorie counting to know that her and food did not have the best relationship. But she didn't want Rachel to know that, she was still all too aware that she had over shared with the other girl today and she wasn't about to broadcast another weakness out there for her to see.

Quickly reaching for an onion ring to cover the shake of her hand, she popped the greasy treat in her mouth and ignored the alarm bells ringing in her head 'Happy?'

'Ecstatic' nodded the brunette, apparently unaware of her friend's internal struggle as she took a bite from her own food.

Santana watched as the petite girl made short work of her meal and wished for the hundredth time that she could enjoy her own food with the same ease. As it was she forced down her food and some of Rachel's to keep her happy and tried not to think about the heaving feeling in the pit of her stomach or the voice in her head, that sounded remarkably like Coach Sylvester, telling her something about fat cheerleaders being useless.

'Urgh' Rachel groaned, stretching her arms way above her head before rubbing her stomach 'Now I'm tired, and I think I ate too much'

Rolling her eyes and desperately trying not to agree to enthusiastically the Latina dropped some money onto the table 'Me to. Let's get out of here, it's late and we have an early start'

After dismissing Rachel's protests about paying the cheerleader managed to steer her back in the direction of their hotel where they made a sneaky entrance, not wanting to incur any potential backlash from Mr Shuster for being out late. He hadn't set a curfew but the two girls were pretty sure he wouldn't want them roaming about at this time of night.

As they made their way up the stairs Santana picked up her pace hoping to burn off some of the calories she had just devoured, she was so focused she didn't realise how far ahead she was until she made it back to the room unaccompanied. A few minutes later Rachel arrived, slightly out of breath and casting a displeased look at her friend 'Why do I get the feeling you were trying to lose me there?'

Santana shrugged and, more out of habit than desire, lied 'Maybe I was'

Frowning the singer mumbled something under her breath which only made Santana feel even guiltier for making Rachel think she was going to resort to her usual bitchy self. As she quickly changed out of her clothes and into her baggy sweatshirt and shorts ready for bed, the cheerleader caught a glimpse of her bloated stomach. Placing a hand on it she tried to shrug off the guilt that was building inside of her, reminding herself it was only a one-time thing and she hadn't really eaten that much. Not really. Besides she could just go for an extra long run tomorrow morning.

She watched Rachel return from the bathroom and scramble into bed, not meeting her gaze once as she then rolled over putting her back to Santana who sighed loudly. She wanted to apologise but the words just wouldn't come instead she settled for a simple 'Goodnight Rachel'

Smiling as she heard a half-annoyed, half-pleased 'Goodnight Santana' the cheerleader shut off the lights and jumped into her own bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Thanks again for all the feedback, i can't believe how much fun i'm having writing this fic, i love PezBerry - the story just seems to flow really easily. More Santana issues in this chapter and PezBerry goodness to look forward to in the next.**

**As always please R&R : )  
**

**Chapter Four**

Santana had spent the last hour tossing and turning as she listened to the gentle inhale and exhale of the girl sleeping comfortably next to her. She wished she could blame her mild insomnia on the soft snoring but she knew it was the niggling feeling in the back of her mind that she needed to be up and exercising that was really keeping her from sleep.

Throwing back the covers the Latina quietly slid out of her bed and padded over to the bathroom, closing the door behind her she flicked on the light wincing at the brightness. She didn't really know what had compelled her to get up, but now she was here she found herself staring blankly at her reflection, her eyes automatically wandered up and down as she looked for any visibly weight gain from her earlier dinner. She knew she wouldn't find anything, it was next to impossible, but she couldn't shake the feeling her stomach was suddenly going to swell.

Running a hand threw her hair the Latina suppressed a groan, she thought she had moved past her insecurities but it had taken less than an hour to prove her wrong because here she was. The familiarity of finding herself uncomfortably and irrationally worried and hiding in the bathroom was not a welcome memory. It was then that she realised her obsessive calorie counting, her control of food hadn't improved her relationship with food it had just replaced a worse way of dealing with it.

Sliding down against the bath Santana bit her lip as she moved closer to the toilet, her stomach already clenching in anticipation. She fought the urge to throw up and closing her eyes she forced herself to take a deep calming breath, she willed herself to stay strong.

'Santana? Are you okay'

The soft voice broke the girl from her thoughts as her head snapped up and she saw Rachel standing awkwardly in the doorway.

'I'm fine' she replied, her voice echoing off the tiles as she avoided the other girls gaze. 'Must have been the dodgy food in that place'

Rachel was silent for a moment, and Santana hoped she had brought the lie, but instead she blurted out 'Please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing'

Santana cursed her quick defensive reactions as she all but shouted 'What? No, I don't do that anymore!'

If there had been a more awkward moment in the cheerleaders life she couldn't remember it, and here she had thinking their earlier heart-to-heart had been bad. She had never wanted to crawl into a corner and disappear more.

'Anymore?'

The tentative tone made Santana wince, she had no idea how to deal with a concerned Rachel, so she did the only thing she knew how to, 'Just leave me alone man-hands'

If she had been expecting the insult to causing any kind of damage then she was severely underestimating the determination on the other girls face 'That's not going to work, you're not going to push me away'

Santana wished she had the energy to argue but today had been more than draining, so when she felt the diva take a seat next to her she didn't even have the pretence to roll her eyes as she muttered 'Whatever'

The two were silent for a moment and just as the cheerio was wondering if the other girl was beginning to regret her decision to join her, a soft voice broke through the tension.

'Is this my fault?' Rachel asked quietly, 'I mean, this is my fault right? I shouldn't have pushed you at the diner'

Rolling her head back to lean against the cold marble surface of the bath the Latina stared blankly at the ceiling, she figured if she didn't look at the other girl than she couldn't pretend this wasn't happening and that would make tomorrow a lot easier

'It's not your fault Berry, how the hell were you supposed to know I-' Santana stopped short, she had never admitted out loud to anyone that had ever made herself sick 'I'd freak out'

'Freaking out' the singer stated sceptically 'Is that what this is?'

Santana hated the other girl a little bit right then, she had forgotten how confrontational Rachel could be. Anyone else would have accepted the lies she was feeding them and left her alone, in fact anyone else would probably have slammed the door shut or stayed in the warm, comfort of their bed rather than deal with this mess. And that thought made Santana soften a little bit towards the other girl, not that she'd admit it.

'I wasn't going to it' Santana sighed, casting a sideways glance at her friend who looked uncertain which wasn't surprising considering Santana wasn't sure she believed that she was saying herself 'I mean it, I just…I'm so careful about everything I eat, I live off those horrible diet shakes Coach makes us drink, that it's been a while since I ate any actual food. I just felt…'

Frowning as the taller girl trailed off Rachel pushed 'You felt…'

'Guilty' the answer was so quiet Santana wasn't even sure she had said it out loud.

'Why do you feel guilty?'

Santana shrugged, hoping to appear nonchalant 'If I get fat then I'll get kicked off the cheerios and lose my scholarship and I need that scholarship to get out of this redneck town. I'm not gonna end up some Lima-loser working a dead end job while assholes like earlier push me around. I may not be able to control the colour of my skin but I can control my weight and that means I control my future'

Rachel was still as she processed what she had heard, 'You're not gonna get stuck doing anything you don't want Santana, you have more drive and determination than anyone I've ever meet. But you have got to stop letting other people change the way you look at yourself'

'Right okay, well I'll get right on that' Santana replied sarcastically, though the usual venom was absent as she felt her shoulders sag. She had been carrying around so many insecurities and hiding them under a mask of anger and bitchiness that she was exhausted.

'You don't have to do it on your own' Rachel pointed out, 'Everyone in glee cares about you-'

'No they're afraid of me, they don't even want me there so why would they ever care about all my bullshit'

'For someone so smart you can be kind of dumb some times' the diva admonished with a slight shake of her head 'Maybe at the start they were scared of you but now…we know you love glee, it's the best part of your day right?'

Santana grinned at this; remembering how it was Rachel who had been the one to believe her.

'I see when you're onstage and you are…incredible. You're not the same person you were Santana, and you have to believe that everyone in our group sees it too. They might not know about-' Rachel paused, trying to think of a delicate way to put it 'All of this, but I know that they'd help you out in a second. You said it yourself earlier, we're a team and that means we stick together'

'Maybe' the Latina admitted 'But I don't think I'm ready for anyone else to find out about this, can we just keep this between us?'

Rachel nodded 'Sure'

A shiver crept through Santana's body as she realised how cold it was in the bathroom 'I think I'm ready to get out of here now'

Rachel smiled and hopped to her feet, extending a hand to Santana who accepted it gratefully exhaustion sweeping through her as she struggled to her feet. As the two made their way back to their beds Santana hesitated as she held on to the smaller girl's hand. In an unspoken gesture she crawled under her covers indicating there was space for Rachel too. Santana didn't want to make it obvious that she wanted the other girl to stay with her not only because she didn't want to appear weak, but also because she really couldn't take it if Rachel rejected her. She watched Rachel process the situation, probably weighting up where it was an elaborate joke, before letting out a silent sigh of relief as the singer slipped into the bed.

The two lay side by side arms brushing against each other in the small space before Santana rolled over and let out a loud yawn. She smiled as she felt the other girl turn with her, aware their bodies were now achingly close the cheerleader bit her lip in nervous thought. Then as if on its own accord Santana felt her arm reach back to grasp the diva's arm and wrap around her, drawing the two girls closer together. Relaxing as she felt Rachel pull her close, Santana finally found comfort in the other girl's arms and allowed herself to give into the tug of sleep as they lay huddled together.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N – Okay here, as promised is some PezBerry goodness! A massive thank you for all reviews/alerts and especially to Nat365 for an awesome review. I was pretty worried about getting Santana's characterisation right, it's tough to keep her in character and make her seem vulnerable so I really appreciate your comments. I've actually written quite far ahead and have just finished a PezBerry chapter where they deal with all the past issues, I'm trying to keep the pace up (I have a tendency to dawdle) so I'm trying to balance that with Santana gradually opening up to Rachel, which is fun. Hard to do, but fun!**

**Anyways enough of my ramblings, enjoy! All reviews welcomed, they make my day : )**

**Chapter Five**

When Santana woke up the next morning it took her a few minutes to shake the disorientating feeling of waking up in a room that was not hers. It took her another couple of minutes to process waking up with Rachel Berry in her bed, and her arms. Somehow during the night the two girls had become entwined, and now Rachel was firmly snuggled into the cheerleaders side with Santana's arm wrapped securely around her waist.

Santana couldn't help but smile as she felt the warmth of the other girl against her, their legs tangled with each other as the singer continued to sleep. It wasn't long however before a voice in the cheerleaders head began to ruin the peaceful feeling the morning had brought. Santana grimaced as she fought the reflex to run, her mind fighting with itself as she weighted up the pros and cons of staying exactly where she was. Before she could come to a conclusion however she was met with sight of a pair of sleepy eyes staring up at her.

She watched Rachel intently, hoping that maybe if she was lucky she'd be able to gage what was going through the singers head. It didn't take a genius to work out that the diva was thinking pretty much the same thing as Santana only she was wondering if perhaps the Latina wasn't about to kick her out of the bed or produce a slushie from somewhere. As she watched Rachel the cheerleader had never seen the other girl look so vulnerable, in fact she was so used to the loud over-confident personality she saw everyday she wondered if she had ever seen the girl look anything other than self-assured and from the looks of things Rachel was thinking the same thing. Santana had never really entertained the idea that the two shared any similarities, but she had to admit they both did a good job of covering their own insecurities with false bravado. Santana didn't know if it was this sudden realisation but it struck her that not only did she not want to be the one who crushed the hopeful expression but also she actually wanted to be the one to put a smile on her face.

Drawing the other girl close to her Santana smiled 'Morning'

She was rewarded with one of Rachel's signature grins and surprised whisper 'Morning'

It should have been awkward, the two established enemies now lying snuggled together, but to Santana it felt comfortable and…right. She didn't want to move, and said as much to the smaller girl.

'Me either' came the sleepy reply as Rachel tilted her head to look up 'But somehow I don't think we'll be able to rehearse with the others from here'

'Pfft…we can phone it in. Well I can, you on the other hand could probably make yourself heard all the way back in Lima if you wanted to' Santana joked, earning herself a gentle slap from the other girl which made her chuckle.

'Are you saying I'm loud?'

Santana looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding curtly 'Yes' Laughing as she watched Rachel pout in mock annoyance she added 'But you're also incredibly talented, Idina Menzl should be looking over her shoulder'

Rachel was quiet for a moment and Santana couldn't work out if it was the shock of receiving an actual compliment from the head cheerleader or if she'd said something wrong. She never had been good with people and as the seconds ticked past she became increasingly anxious, that was until she saw a small smile creep across the singers face.

'You know who Idina Menzl is?'

'No, not really…I mean-' Santana mumbled, looking sheepish.

'I don't believe it, all these time you made fun of me for always wanted to do the songs from Wicked, and adamantly pointed out that-'

'Okay, okay' the cheerleader interrupted, waving the one arm that wasn't wrapped around the other girl 'You got me, but you tell anyone I will…'

'Yes?' the singer replied cockily.

Santana racked her brain for a moment, then grinned 'I'll make sure everyone knows you went to see Hole when they toured last year!'

'What?'

The loud high-pitch shriek caused Santana to simultaneously smile in victory and wonder if she had just permanently damaged her hearing.

'How…how did you know that? And you wouldn't dare, no-one would ever believe you' Rachel babbled, rolling over onto her elbows so she could glare.

'Actually, I would and I have photographic evidence of you in a Courtney Love t-shirt, so be warned you tell on me and I'll tell on you' Santana stated, a happy grin spreading across her face as she watched Rachel shake a tiny fist at her.

'Fine. But I only went to that idiotic place because I wanted to experience a new type of music with the intent of expanding my musical understanding and ability. It doesn't hurt to attempt to study all genres, and seeing as how I am clearly well-versed in musical theatre I made the executive decision to broaden my horizons'

'Study?' Santana enquired seriously 'Is that why you were screaming for them to play _Loser Dust_, because you'd done your research right?'

Rachel blushed, ducking back down and snuggled back into the other girls body 'Shut up'

Santana chuckled and couldn't help but think how adorable the smaller girl was when she was flustered, though she kept this thought to herself 'It's okay. I think it's pretty cool. You're a secret badass'

Rachel laughed and was about to reply when a faint knock on the door snapped them back to reality.

'Girls?' Mr Shue asked, sounding as though he half expected to find some kind of crime scene.

Neither Santana nor Rachel made to move, both looking at each other and then the door cursing the teacher for interrupting their safe haven.

'Rach? Santana?' he asked again, his voice louder this time and even more uncertain.

'What is it Mr Shue?' the diva finally responded politely.

'We're meeting downstairs for breakfast in twenty minutes okay?'

Santana let out a loud groan as she buried her head under the pillow, allowing the other girl to respond with fake enthusiasm 'Okay, thanks'

They listened for the sound of his footsteps retreating before letting out a loud sigh in unison. With her head still buried under the pillow Santana mumbled something unintelligible in Spanish, which sounded like something Rachel was glad she couldn't understand

Twisting her body the singer slipped out from under the covers, already missing the comforting warmth she stretched her arms above her head and glanced at the clock. 7.40. Normally she would have been up hours ago to commence her daily routine but after yesterday she was in no rush to do anything more than change and wash.

Santana listened to the sounds of the singer getting ready, enjoying the gentle humming as she moved around the room. As it turned out she enjoyed it a little too much and was rudely awoken a few minutes later when Rachel tossed a pillow at her head 'Get up, we're going to be late'

'I'm not a morning person'

'No kidding' Rachel replied, rolling her eyes.

Eventually Santana managed to claw her way out of the covers and get herself ready, in record time she was stood by the door keys in hand looking as though she had spent the last few hours primping and preening.

'How do you do that?' Rachel asked, as she slid on her jacket.

'Do what?'

'You rolled out of bed less than fifteen minutes ago and you look beautiful' Rachel gushed, blushing as she realised what she had said.

Santana blinked in disbelief a smile playing at the corner of her mouth as she tried to remain casual 'Beautiful?'

No one ever called her beautiful, sure they called her hot or sexy, and guys were constantly trying to chat her up but beautiful was something new.

'Well yes' the singer replied, blushing a deeper shade of red.

Santana wasn't sure she'd ever felt as good as she did right then, and reaching out impulsively she took hold of Rachel's elbow and pulled her close. They stood still for a moment, there bodies almost touching as they stared into each other's eyes, Santana felt her gaze drift down to the others girl's lips as she bit her own nervously. She hesitated slightly, giving Rachel time to pull away but when the smaller girl stayed still Santana moved closer and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Pulling back she looked for any sign that she should stop but instead she felt Rachel reach up to place a hand on her cheek. She didn't know who made the next move, and it didn't really matter, all she knew was that kissing Rachel felt incredible.

It was tentative at first as if they were both waiting for the other to reject them but as it became apparent that wasn't going too happened they grew in confidence. Wrapping her arms around the shorter girl Santana drew their bodies impossibly close together and was rewarded with a soft moan from the other girls. Time seemed to stop as she felt their lips press together, the kiss deepening as Santana took the lead her tongue granted access the Rachel's mouth. Santana didn't know how long they stood like that, clasped together exploring each other. But as they broke apart she kept her arms encircled around Rachel's waist.

'Wow' Rachel whispered, her extensive vocabulary failing her.

'Uh-uh' Santana agreed.

'That was unexpected, I think-'

A knock at the door broke them from their cocoon for the second time that morning, and an understandably irritated Santana growled 'What?'

'Mr Shue asked me to remind you ladies that you're required downstairs, that is if you haven't killed each other already' Kurt replied, the boredom of being sent to chase the girls evident.

'We'll be down in a minute' the Latina replied quickly rolling her eyes. Even though she knew there was no way her could see her do it, she hoped he could somehow sense it.

'Whatever'

Waiting for the boy to wander away the two brunettes broke apart, and a strange tension filled the room.

'What are we doing?' Rachel asked, inevitably to first to speak.

Santana shrugged 'I wanted to kiss you'

'That's it?' the diva questioned, a look of hurt flashing through her eyes before she forced herself swallow the feeling.

For her part the Latina instantly felt guilty for brushing the other girl off and hearing the pain in her question she all but saw Rachel mentally preparing herself for the rejection that was about to come. Santana was quiet for a moment, which turned out to be too long as she felt Rachel push past her to get to the door preparing a trade-mark storm out.

'Wait' the cheerleader half-shouted, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her round so they were face to face. She could see the glisten of unshed tears in the singers eyes 'I didn't mean it like that'

'What did you mean then?'

Santana sighed 'I don't know. I'm not good at this stuff okay…and this is a lot to take in. Until yesterday the best we had was a truce but now…'

Rachel looked at her with questioning eyes; she was not going to make this easy.

'I like you alright?' Santana huffed, drawing a small smile from the other girl 'You're bossy and annoying and you're one of the most insufferable people I have ever met-'

'Is this going somewhere?' the diva asked as her smile faded into a confused pout.

'But' Santana stressed, shaking her head at the interruption 'You're also kind and understanding and you know exactly who you are and you aren't afraid to let people know that. You're brave and passionate and you don't judge people even when they give you a reason to…and you're a really, really good kisser'

Santana fell silent her eyes staring at the ground after her uncharacteristic outburst. She wasn't normally comfortable spilling her feelings out, much less putting her heart out for someone to crush. She hated feeling vulnerable and giving so much power to someone else. And as she stood in front of Rachel she thought that her fears were about to be justified, after all she had no reason to think the diva would reciprocate her feelings in fact she'd pretty much given Rachel free rein to hate her.

Santana was starting to accept that karma was about to kick her ass, and as Rachel stayed silent the cheerleader racked her brains for some way to backpedal from her previous declaration. Instead she found herself stumbling back as the singer wrapped her arms around the Latina's neck and kissed her.

'Erm…okay' Santana grinned, before adding jokingly 'Does that mean you like me too?'

'Yes, I like you too' Rachel nodded, smiling as Santana kissed her again 'You may seem conceited, arrogant and completely devoid of the understanding of human decency-'

'This isn't making me feel good, can't we just make out some more?'

'But' the diva stressed, raising an eyebrow at the interruption 'Behind that façade is a sensitive, intelligent and loyal person who should consider letting more people see the real her more often'

The cheerleader snorted, she didn't want to ruin the moment but some part of her couldn't help but revolt against the genuine warmth and affection Rachel was showing her 'That's a really long-winded way to say you wanna get in my pants'

Santana gritted her teeth as the words spilled from her, shifting uncomfortably as she down-played Rachel's statement the cheerio looked away from the girl in front of her. She had meant her words to sound light-hearted but she knew it hadn't come out that way.

Rachel sighed, a small smile playing at her lips as she reached down and linked their hands together 'Do you always try to deflect compliments?'

Santana shrugged, gazing down at their intertwined hands 'Not exactly used to be being told I'm sensitive'

'Well I suggest you try to adapt to it as I'm sure I will tell you again' Rachel smiled, as she finally managed to lock eyes with the Latina. Santana rolled eyes at the corniness of the situation, non-so-secretly happy at the idea of Rachel complimenting her.

Pulling the smaller girl into her she gave her a small kiss, before whispering 'You're kind of awesome'

As the singer offered her a huge smile Santana tried to ignore the niggling feeling of guilt that was worming its way into her happy mood. She couldn't silence the voice telling her she didn't deserve any of this, she had spent most of high school ridiculing the girl in front of her and now Rachel was willing to give her a second chance, more than a second chance even. She was offering the cheerleader more than friendship. Santana wondered if she would be able to do the same in Rachel's position.

Her inner chaos was disturbed as Rachel suddenly blurted out 'But how exactly do we explain this to the others?'

Santana was glad of the distraction, though she would have preferred her guilt to be interrupted by something easier to deal with. Chewing her lip the cheerio replied 'We don't. Not yet anyway, I think we should take the time to wrap our heads around it first'

'Okay' Rachel agreed quietly, nodding in agreement 'That makes sense'

Santana frowned as she watched the other girl force a smile. Sighing and slightly surprised she knew what was going through Rachel's head she added 'I'm not saying we have to hide anything, and I'm not ashamed or whatever's going through your head right now okay? I just think it makes more sense for us to see what this is between us before informing the world. You think anyone is going to make this easy?'

'I guess not' the diva relented.

'It's not forever and besides it doesn't mean we have to go back to glaring at each other from across the room. I have no problem with people knowing we're friends, and if anyone says anything bad I'll give them a problem'

Rachel finally allowed herself to smile as she asked tentatively 'You're sure?'

'I'm sure' Santana stated firmly, before tugging the other girl towards the door 'Now come on, if we're any later Mr Shue is gonna send out a search party'

Sneaking one last kiss Santana placed a hand on Rachel's back and gently pushed her towards the door. No matter how much she wanted to stay locked away she knew that they were pushing their luck and it was only a matter of time before the whole glee club were hammering on their door demanding to know what was going on and if first aid was required.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N – Hey guys, just to let you know I am moving this week so there may be a delay in updates while I get my internet sorted. But don't worry I have written the next few chapters and will get them up asap when all is sorted.

Again thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad people are enjoying the story. It's a lot of fun to write Santana as being vulnerable and having a lot of issues, and having Rachel as the stronger one of the two. I loved the season two opener….i hope they explored Santana's character more this year, they touched on her self-esteem issues with the whole boob-job thing, I just hope it's something they develop into a storyline!

**Chapter Six**

She was wearing a reindeer jumper, in summer. Not that it would have been any more acceptable in winter but Santana was more distracted by the fact that she found it adorable rather than irritating. Granted she still wanted to set the thing on fire along with the rest of Rachel's outfit but as she watched her skip over to grab some food from the buffet table she simply let out a chuckle and, after grabbing two coffees, collapsed down on one of the chairs at the glee club table, the group offering her a vague good morning.

The room was pretty much empty except for their eclectic group and offering Britney a quick smile the cheerleader tried to look uninterested as she observed their conversation. She didn't know what she had expected, but everyone was carrying on as normal. No one mentioned what had happened by the elevator yesterday and no-one had commented about her and the singer arriving together. Although she thought, rolling her eyes, by now she was probably old news the glee club seemed to be rocked by new gossip on an hourly basis.

But as her eyes flicked between Puck and Finn debating some stupid football team she couldn't help but feel hurt that not one of her fellow glee-clubbers had asked if she was okay, they simply carried on as normal. She hadn't really expected much, after all she had pretty much tormented most of the group at the table and it wouldn't be much of a shock if they thought she was finally getting what was coming to her. She had expected more from the few she had thought of as her friends, as she watched the group if pained her to see Quinn and Brittney laughing together as they shared a joke and Puck hadn't so much as looked at her since she sat down. Santana felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness as she sat outcast from the group who had all managed to bond together in one way or another.

Taking a sip of her coffee Santana felt Rachel slide into the seat next to her, the closeness of her presence grabbing her attention and she turned to smile at the brunette, realising that there was at least one person at the table who cared enough to worry about her. She would never have expected it to be the tiny singer but if last night had taught her anything it was that she should always expected the unexpected and that she also needed to start having confidence in who she was and that meant breaking some old habits. She had spent a lot of energy building her reputation but all she had to show for it was some serious self-esteem issues and a predominantly empty contact list on her phone, even the supposed misfits of the school didn't want her around. Santana sighed, the morning had started off so well she wasn't sure how it have turned into this pity party she could feel Rachel looking at her and raising her eyes to meet the other girl she was met with a concerned expression. Shrugging the cheerleader tried to look more upbeat which seemed to work as the brunette smiled and proceeded to pour her cereal.

After following Sue's ridged diet plans and forcing herself to skip meals she realised she was half a step away from having a real problem. So when Rachel shook the packet of cereal at her, a tentative question written on her face, she accepted gratefully wondering how Rachel knew she loved Cheerios or if she was just being cute. Nonchalantly the cheerleader passed Rachel one of the coffees that was sitting in front of her, she may have just had blurted out her feelings to the other girl but she wasn't about to act totally whipped.

As she took a bite of her breakfast she suddenly became aware she was being watched, or more accurately they were being watched. Looking up she was met with the curious eyes of everyone at their table.

Santana raised an eye brow 'Yes?'

'Dude, are you guys having breakfast...together?' Puck asked, his eyes flicking between the two.

'Is that a problem?' the Latina challenged.

'No it's just, you guys do remember you don't like each other right?'

Santana choked on the mouthful of cereal she had just bitten into and heard Rachel having a similar experience next to her. _I like you okay_?

Smooth they were not but it was Rachel who recovered quickest 'Actually following an eventful evening we have decided to call a truce'

Santana wondered if the diva heard the double meaning in her answer but judging by the pleased look on her face she didn't, shrugging the Latina threw a half-heart glare in everyone's direction daring them to say anything else. Luckily the group took the hint and went back to their own conversations, but Santana still noticed the stolen glances she was receiving from the rest of the group and she wondered if they cared enough to say something about what they had seen yesterday and what they were witnessing now. For once Santana was glad her reputation preceded her, sometimes putting the fear of God in people worked in her favour because as much as part of her wanted them to care she really did not feel like dealing with their questions.

'Okay, good morning everyone' Mr Shue said brightly breaking through the increasing tension and clapping his hands together enthusiastically as he seemed to appear from nowhere 'Glad you could make it today girls'

'You're welcome' Santana muttered dryly, earning a discreet slap on the leg from the girl next to her.

Mr Shue either didn't hear or chose to ignore her remarks as he ploughed on 'Right, the team before us are just finishing up. We need to be ready to start rehearsing in the auditorium in twenty minutes, so finish up here and then head over. I've got some great new ideas I want to try and work into the second number. And some fun songs to loosen you guys up before the competition'

Everyone waited for him to leave before letting out a collective groan.

'It's way too early for this' Mercedes complained as she rose to her feet, dragging Kurt with her 'Come on lady fabulous, get your booty in gear'

As Santana watched the group begin to get up and make their way over to the auditorium she stifled a yawn. It had been a late night for everyone but she knew that she and Rachel were probably feeling a lot worse than any of the others, although she had to admit the few hours of sleep she did get while huddled with Rachel were some of the best she had gotten in a while.

'Ready to go? The diva piped up, as she finished draining her coffee and looked up expectantly.

Santana nodded, her body already aching with tiredness 'Are you sure we can't sneak back upstairs?'

Rachel cast a stern look in her direction and the cheerleader knew she was about to go off on a long speech about team spirit and practice making perfect, taking a quick look around the room to make sure they were in the clear the cheerio leaned in and place a quick kiss of the other girls cheek whispering into her ear 'I'm joking, but…later?'

Rachel nodded, her face turning a light shade of pink as she grinned 'Defiantly'

Shoving her chair back from the table Santana jumped up, trying to kick-start some energy into her system. It didn't work so well, but as she began to head out of the hotel with Rachel in step next to her she smiled brightly. Today was going to be a good day, she was sure of it.

'Crap' Santana groaned as she stopped suddenly, wondering if her upbeat thought had caused some kind of karmic retribution 'I left my bag back there, I'll meet you in the auditorium?'

'I can wait if you want?'

Santana smiled, ushering the girl away 'I'll be fine. Besides do you really want to run the risk of being late? The last time that happened Quinn made us all do that fucking Disney song'

The diva opened her mouth to reply but decided against it as she quickly hurried off to chase the others. She had forgotten about that particular glee practice, or repressed it perhaps, but there was no way Quinn Fabray was ever going to get another chance to dictate any song choice. Ever. Looking back over her shoulder the diva just managed to shout 'Hurry up though, we still have a lot of work to do'

The cheerleader shook her head as she watched the other girl try to walk calmly before breaking out into a sprint as she left the hotel. One thing was for sure, Rachel Berry was nothing if not dedicated to glee.

Making her way back to the breakfast room Santana entertained the idea of ditching practice and running back upstairs to hide in her warm, comfy bed. She was in the middle of weighing up the pros and cons when she spotted her bag lying right by the chair she had been sitting on moments before, picking it up she slung the bag over her shoulder carelessly. She was so wrapped up in her own little world that she didn't see the person behind her and ended up accidently hitting them with her bag.

The sound of swearing broke her from her thoughts as she whirled round realising what she had done 'Sneak up on a person much? What are you-'

Her rant was cut off as she took in the person standing in her front of her; taking a step back Santana drew herself up to her full height, refusing to let the guy intimidate her she spat 'What do you want?'

'Now that's' not very nice is it' the Jackson High oaf sneered 'Where are you manners? Or don't they have manners where you're from?'

Gritting her teeth Santana tried to retain her composure, there was no way she was going to let this asshole think he had any power over her, she had giving him too much leverage yesterday. She wasn't about to make the same mistake. 'I don't think I'm the one who has a problem with manners'

'And what's that supposed to mean?' the blonde growled as he took a step forward, invading the cheerio's personal space.

Standing her ground Santana sneered 'You know what it means you racist hick'

The two stood eye-to-eye, neither willing to back down, as the tension grew Santana forced herself to stay strong, this guy had a definite height and weight advantage over her but no-one out bitched Santana Lopez. The guy opposite her seemed to reach a similar conclusion as he took a step back, looking the cheerio up and down he grinned lazily 'I could make this whole thing real easy for you y'know?'

Shuddering at his invasive gaze the Latina scoffed 'And how's that? You and your redneck friends gonna join the rest of us here in the twenty-first century?'

Reaching out to run a hand down the cheerleaders arm he licked his lips 'Come on, don't play hard to get'

'Ew' Santana sneered, pushing his arm away 'What the hell is wrong with you, you freak?'

She knew as soon as the words had left her mouth that she'd made a big mistake, the already intimidating frame of the guy in front of her seem to twist and snarl as he lashed out, the force of his fist connecting with her stomach enough to knock the wind from her and force Santana to drop to her knees with a grimace.

'You're as stupid as you look, all you had to do was play nice and this whole weekend would have been a lot easier for both of us' the blonde hissed as he towered over her.

Looking up Santana saw him pull his foot back and she closed her eyes waiting for the impact, but it never came. Instead she felt herself unceremoniously hoisted to her feet.

'You gotta be careful, these floors get kind of slippery sometimes' the guy said, grasping her by the elbow painfully 'Are you okay?'

Santana frowned, she didn't understand what was happening. Until she looking behind the blonde and saw an older couple standing in the doorway, their eyes flickered between the two youngsters clearly trying to access the situation. All Santana could think about was getting the hell out of that room. A small part of her wanted to scream at him, to punch him in his smug face but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of sinking to his level, if she retaliated now that meant she was no better than him. Shoving the guy off of her she stumbled back muttering something incoherent before pushing her way past the glaring boy.

Not stopping to acknowledge the older couple Santana exited the room, breaking into a run as soon as she could, her only thoughts on getting as far away from the Jackson High student as quickly as possible. Stumbling out of the hotel she pushed back the tears that threatened to spill, her stomach ached in protest as she kept up her quick pace focusing on putting as much distance between them as possible. Santana swallowed hard as she fought the sob that was building, unable to crush the feeling that this was no more than she deserved.

As the auditorium came into sight the cheerleader took a deep breath, brushing away a stray tear she tried to regain her composure. She was already late and could hear that they had started rehearsal without her, which meant she would have to try and sneak in unnoticed. Stealthily she snuck forward, creaking open the door as she planned how to get in without being seen. There was no way she was going to let anyone find out about what had just happened, they had already seen her weak and vulnerable and she wouldn't let it happen again, she didn't need to give them another reason to let her know that was goes around comes around and she was finally getting her karma.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N – I'm baaaaaaaaaaack. I'm really sorry it's taken so long between updates, but I've been moving and without the internet for a few weeks. But everything is up and running again now so without any more rambling…**

**Chapter Seven**

'Okay guys, that's looking great. Once we get these new harmonies mixed in and strengthen up the second verse we'll be unstoppable'

By the time Santana had made it to the auditorium the rest of the glee club had already started running through their opening number, and the cheerleader was glad that she could simply slip into her spot which out any fuss. Ignoring the questioning looks Rachel was throwing her the cheerleader focused on her routine, paying an unnecessary amount of attention in the hope of blotting out the ache that was developing across her ribs.

Time passed in a blur and soon they had been rehearsing for most of the morning and collapsing into a nearby chair Santana wondered how much longer she could keep singing and dancing before she gave up and fell asleep on the stage, she was pretty sure she could get Britney to work it into the choreography somehow. Gazing up she smiled as she watched Rachel trying desperately to teach Finn any sense of co-ordination. He had already stood on her feet twice and tripped her up during one of her high notes if he did it again she was pretty sure the diva wouldn't hesitate to shove him off the edge of the stage, possibly working jazz hands in as a finale.

Santana yawned as she fought the urge to shut her eyes, but was suddenly snapped out of her haze when she felt someone sit next to her. She thought for a moment it was Britney, the blonde had a habit of ninja-like stealth, but as she turned to face the person next to her she wished she hadn't.

'What? I have a…cramp in my leg' the Latina lied, smiling innocently 'Five minutes and I'm all yours'

Mr Shue looked taken back 'It wasn't that I…I heard about yesterday, Kurt said-'

'Kurt doesn't know what he's talking about' Santana snapped, quickly averting her eyes away from her teachers as she gritted her teeth. She knew it would be naïve to think that the incident yesterday had gone by without any discussion among the other glee clubbers but she had really hoped they would at least keep Mr Shue out of it. She could practically hear him trying to think of something to say to comfort her. Santana knew that out of all the glee club members she was probably the one who had the least contact with him, what with the occasional sarcastic banter and bad attitude he tended to give her a wide berth, like most of the other people at school and so the last thing she need was his fake concern.

'I know the director for the Jackson High club and believe me as soon as I find him I will be having a long discussion with him about-'

'No!' Santana growled, twisting around to glare at the man 'I don't need you to fight my battles for me. It was a bunch of stupid ass ignorant jerks and I really don't want to make a big deal out of it okay?'

After everything that had just happened Santana did not want to deal with this from Mr Shue right now, she could already feel bruises starting to develop, the ache in her chest acting as a reminder that these jerks weren't messing around, they could cause her some serious trouble if it came down to it. Santana knew she could deal with it but what about the others? She wouldn't risk putting anyone else in the firing line, especially Rachel.

'Santana, you can't excuse what they did and I am certainly not going to look the other way while one of my students is being...' Mr Shue broke off searching for a word that wouldn't offend the strong-minded girl 'Victimised because of the colour of her skin'

'So…what? You think if they get a good talking to, or detention, they'll suddenly see the error of their ways? It doesn't work like that!' Santana shouted angrily, drawing the attention of the rest of the group who had long since stopped rehearsing in favour of ease-dropping on the unlikely duo 'Just stay out of it'

Santana clenched her jaw as she turned to glare at her the others, but the concerned looks she received took most the venom out of her.

'Mr Shue is right Santana' Mercedes said 'We're a team and that means sticking up for each other, I know you don't like it and you might think we're just a bunch of crazy freaks but we got your back girl'

Santana blinked in confusion as she watched everyone nod in agreement, and couldn't help but wonder if this meant that Rachel was right, the group did care about her. She had been nothing short of evil towards most of them yet here they were ready to back her up. Sneaking a glance at Rachel's suspiciously gloating smile the cheerleader rolled her eyes at the other girl, she looked way to cute when she was enjoying being right.

Rachel smiled as heard Mercedes speech and taking a step forward she added 'Everyone in this club knows what it's like to feel like they don't belong, but that's the best thing about being in glee because we're a family and that means we'd help you out in a second' the diva concluded echoing her words from the previous night and trying to ignore the raised eyebrows at her defence of the cheerio.

The rest of the group let out various sounds of agreement, some looking more nervous than others as they half-expected the cheerleader to brush their sentiment off. Instead the Latina took a deep breath and forced a nod. She wasn't about to pour her heart out to anyone else, just because she'd let her guard down around Rachel didn't mean the rest of group got an all access pass to her thoughts too.

Seeing the friendly faces around her Santana wished she could enjoy the feeling of inclusion, she had often watched the others as they had bonded together and felt more than a little jealous, but right now she couldn't quite understand why everyone was so willing to defend her and she wondered if they even understood what they were potentially letting themselves in for. At this point it made more sense to her that this was all for the benefit of Mr Shue, a show they were putting on to make their mentor believe they were all a happy family, and even if they were being sincere there was no way Santana would ever let the others put themselves in any kind of danger for her sakes. She defiantly did not deserve people who would do that for her.

'Well said Rachel' Mr Shue interjected, pushing himself up from the chair to address the group. If Santana hadn't know better she would have thought the teacher had sensed her discomfort at the situation as he continued 'Now how about we take a break, I have a director to hunt down and it looks like you guys could use some fresh air'

It wasn't the best cover but Santana was glad as she watched Mr Shue gesture for the others to leave, part of her wanted to argue with him still about talking to the head of Jackson High but she knew it was the right thing to do and she also knew that no-one, not even her, could talk him out of it. He always stuck up for his students, and as much as Santana hated to admit it she admired him for it and she also hoped that maybe if he was the one to deal with it then the others would let it rest and then she wouldn't have to worry about any of the glee club getting dragged into her mess.

'Do you want to come with me?' Mr Shue said as he turned his attention back to the cheerio.

Santana bit her lip as she debated his offer. Eventually shaking her head she said 'Nah, I get what you're doing and I'm grateful really, but…it won't do any good. You don't change people like that with a stern lecture and I don't want to waste my time'

The cheerleader could see the disappointment in Mr Shue's eyes but simply shrugged, there was no way she was going to risk encountering any of the Jackson High students even if it was with him at her side. As she watched him leave the auditorium after the others she realised Rachel was still hanging around, throwing the smaller girl a quick smile Santana pulled herself from her chair and made her way over to the singer. It crossed her mind that she should have been more worried about someone seeing them together but she couldn't bring herself to care as she let Rachel pulled her into a much needed hug, wincing as the girl wrapped her arms around her tender torso.

'Are you okay?' Rachel whispered, her words mumbled into the cheerleaders shoulder.

'I'm fine' Santana replied, trying to keep her tone as normal as possible. She didn't want Rachel to suspect anything had happened, if the tiny diva found out that she had been getting more hassle from the other glee club then she'd never hear the end of it. Rachel would probably drag her after Mr Shue. Beside a small voice whispered in her head _you deserve everything you get, karma's a bitch._

Rachel pulled away, keeping her arms wrapped around Santana's waist, so she could look up at the Latina. From the one look the cheerleader knew she wasn't going to like what was coming next, 'Why didn't you go with Mr Shue?'

Sometimes it sucked to be right the cheerleader thought. Resting her forehead against the smaller girls, if only so she wouldn't have to look at her, she whispered 'It's not that I don't want to go over there and rip them a new one, believe me I really do, but you can't change people like that and you defiantly don't change them by going whimpering to their teacher'

Rachel sighed as she moved to place a gentle kiss on the other girls cheek 'I just want to make sure those Neanderthals get what they deserve'

'They will' Santana said forcefully, 'Because when we get up on that stage tomorrow, the bunch of misfits we are, we're going to kill it and that will mean a lot more than any other revenge I can think of'

**A/N – Massive thanks for all the reviews/alerts, I know this chapter is low on PezBerry but don't worry there's a lot more to come. Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter up in the next day to make-up for the interruption of the last few weeks! **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N – Okay this is just a little filler chapter for fun, I always think of PezBerry when I hear this song and I had to include a song somewhere after all it is a glee fic **

**Chapter Eight**

The group had reassembled after a quick break, it turned out the director for Jackson High wasn't the easiest guy to find and Mr Shue had returned with an apology and a promise to hunt him down later. Santana was more than relieved to be able to put off having to deal with anyone from that school for a little while longer. However Mr Shue had also decided that the group needed a break from all the seriousness of the morning and the rejuvenated teacher seemed to have miraculously produced a whole bunch of sheet music from thin air.

Santana was sat frowning to herself as she wondered where Mr Shue got some of his teaching methods from; because this was defiantly one of the more random glee club practices they had held in a while. Although she could use a distraction this was something else entirely.

'Okay, our set list for tomorrow is tight so I think it's time we tried something a little different, we need a little fun to calm any pre-competition nerves'

The chaos had started from then. Mr Shue had the brilliant idea of randomly assigning songs, which after a lengthy argument from Rachel, had turned out to be more than entertaining if somewhat surreal. Finn had massacred two Barbara Streisand songs, much to Rachel's distress, Puck and Tina formed an unlikely duo for a pretty amazing rendition of _Time of You Life_ even Britney had blown everyone away with a little help from Kurt.

Santana had been praising her good luck as her name was continually not picked from the ominous looking hat, but she knew Rachel was more than irritated as she was relegated to the side-lines.

'One song left guys' Mr Shue shouted over the applause for Quinn's cover of some song Santana had never heard of. As he reached his hand into the hat Santana chuckled as she saw Rachel leaning forward in her chair, a desperate look on her face.

'Rachel' Mr Shue stated, laughing at the excited squeal 'And…Santana'

The cheerleader groaned to herself quietly as she accepted a copy of the sheet music from Mr Shue, ignoring the sniggers coming from Puck. She had never sung a duet with the other girl, if she was honest she was a little intimidated by her talent, but now as she looked over the music she couldn't help but let out a loud uncharacteristic laugh causing everyone to look at her in mild concern.

'Everything okay Santana?' Mr Shue asked, as she walked past him to take her place on the stage.

'Uh-huh' the cheerleader replied vaguely.

As Mr Shue busied himself arranging the other members to do some backing vocals, Santana took her place next to Rachel who bore a huge grin.

'Don't say a word' Santana mock-growled.

'I wasn't going to' Rachel beamed innocently, 'Although it should be pointed out that this could not be a more perfect song to accompany our-'

Santana clamped a hand over the other girl's mouth with a playful grin, not caring if anyone saw her 'Shut it Berry'

Rachel nodded as she moved Santana's hand from its current location 'If you insist but for future reference there are nicer ways to silence me'

The cheerleader laughed, raising an eyebrow at the smaller girls forwardness 'True, but I'm not sure the rest of glee are quite ready to see that yet. Mr Shue's getting on a bit; he'd probably have a heart attack from the shock'

'Totally worth it' Rachel replied scanning over her music 'You ready?'

Santana nodded 'Sure, but try not to make me look to bad okay?'

'You're one of the best singers in this club and although you tend to opt for the backing roles and lack my many years of experience I'm confident you can hold your own' the diva replied with a confident smile as she took both their copies of the song and put them out of the way.

'Rachel, Santana…you ready?' Mr Shue interrupted.

'As ever' Santana replied, moving to stand next to the smaller girl, wishing she still had the paper to hide behind. There wasn't going to be much of a chance to deny her love of this song now.

As the music started up, Santana felt a familiar sense of nerves in her stomach but one look at the girl next to her was enough to calm her. Rachel always looked so happy and content on the stage that Santana had constantly used her as a way of getting over her own anxiety. She was so involved in her admiration of the other girl that she almost missed her cue.

_Dearest Momsie and Popsicle_ she began cringing at her timing, and cursing her short attention span.

_My dear Father _Rachel came in, giving Santana an encouraging look, as they sang together.

_There's been some confusion over rooming here at Shiz._

The next few lines passed over in a blur as Santana found her confidence at the other girl's side. Taking a quick look at the rest of her friends Santana felt a sense of pride at the look of awe on their faces. They had never really heard her sing anything apart from a few lines here and there and her angry duet with Mercedes, this was something entirely different.

_What is this feeling so sudden and new?_

_I felt the moment I laid eyes on you_

_My pulse is rushing_

_My head is reeling_

_My face is flushing_

Santana couldn't keep her eyes off Rachel and grinned as the diva returned her gaze, the intensity rising between them.

_What is this feelingFervid as a flame,_

_Does it have a name?_

_Yes!_

_Loathing, unadulterated loathing _

_For your face_

_Your voice_

_Your clothing _

Santana sang with a playful smirk as she winked, enjoying Rachel's gentle shove.

_Let's just say – I loathe it all_

_Every little trait, however small_

_Makes my very flesh begin to crawl_

_With simple utter loathing_

_There's a strange exhilaration_

_In such total detestation_

_It's so pure, so strong_

_Though I do admit it came on fast_

_Still I do believe that it can last_

_Any I will be loathing, loathing you_

_My whole life long!_

At this point the rest of the glee club came to life, their voices rising up to join in

_Dear Galinda, you are just too good_

_How do you stand it? I don't think I could_

_She's a terror, she's a tartar_

_We don't mean to show a bias_

_But Galinda, you're a martyr_

Santana look a deep breath, she'd never admit it but she loved this song from the first time she heard it and had worked extra hard to be able to hit the next note.

_Well these things are send to try us_

She grinned as she cast a quick look at her friends and Mr Shue who look suitably gob smacked. They managed to shake their surprise long enough to continued their parts.

_Poor Galinda, forced to reside,_

_With someone so disgusting inside_

_We just want to tell you_

_We're all on your side_

_We share you're…_

As the song picked up its tempo Rachel, always the showman, began to circle Santana who mirrored her actions.

_What is this feeling, so sudden and new,_

_I felt the moment I laid eyes on you_

_My pulse is rushing_

_My head is reeling_

_Oh, what is this feeling_

_Does it have a name?_

_Yes_

The song came to a crescendo and Santana couldn't help but smile as she and Rachel turned to face each other, their voices coming together perfectly over the group who continued to belt out their part.

_There's a strange exhilaration_

_In such total detestation,_

_It's so pure, so strong,_

Santana couldn't believe the ease with which they worked together, the movement around the stage came like a second nature and she wondered if anyone else had noticed the chemistry between them. Sure, the song had subtext but they were taking it to another level as they prowled around each other.

_Though I do admit it came on fast,_

_Still I do believe that it can last,_

_And I will be,_

_Laothing,_

_For forever loathing,_

_Truly, deeply loathing you,_

_My whole life long!_

Belting out the final notes, Santana heard the glee club burst into applause and as she looked over she saw everyone on their feet. The next thing she knew Rachel was in front of her and she pulled the Latina into a hug, whispering in her ear 'You. Are. Amazing'

Santana knew she should have let Rachel go, it was going to be hard enough to explain away the energy between them on stage, and that the old Santana would never have been seen touching Berry but she reasoned she wasn't the old Santana anymore. Rachel was right, she had changed a lot this last year and so, ignoring the negative voice in her head she wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. Besides, friends hugged all the time, it didn't mean the rest of the club would read anything into it.

'Well done girls' Mr Shue spoke up as the two broke apart 'That was incredible. Santana, I had no idea you could sing like that, you better be ready to take some more solo's'

Santana cringed as she stole a look at Rachel, expecting the diva to object. Instead the smaller girl look ecstatic, it was then that the cheerio realised she wasn't the only one who had changed a lot in the past year.

'Thanks' she replied, ignoring the blush that had crept up her neck.

Taking their seats back with the rest of the group as Mr Shue began going through the plans for tomorrow, Santana felt someone watching her. Looking up she saw Britney and Quinn glancing in her direction and whispering.

A voice in her ear drew her attention 'You don't think they know do you?'

Santana shook her head, 'How could they?'

Rachel shrugged as she went back to listening to Mr Shue's instructions, but all Santana could focus on was the two blondes locked in deep conversation.

**A/N – The song is 'What is this Feeling?' from Wicked. Prepare for some Santana/Quinn/Britney interaction in the next chapter…**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N – I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, I've never really thought about writing Quinn before so I hope it comes off okay. I love the three cheerios together so I may try and incorporate more into follow chapters. Anyways, enjoy and as all reviews welcome!**

**Chapter Nine**

It was a relatively warm night out and Santana was glad for the cool breeze as she sunk down onto the grass, leaning against a tree. Rachel was still inside, talking to Mr Shue about their opening number for the competition it seemed as though ever since she had realised it would be a chance to prove something to the jerks at Jackson High she had been twice as determined, which considering Rachel's personality was almost a scary sight.

'Hey!'

Quinn's voice rang out and Santana looked over to see the blonde heading in her direction. Her stomach clench in worry as girl sat down on the grass next to her.

'Hey, what's up?' Santana asked casually, immediately regretting her vague question.

Quinn bit her lip as she looked up at the brunette, she hesitated then quietly she mumbled something which sounded a lot like an apology.

'Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for?' Santana replied with a confused look as she shuffled closer to the other cheerleader.

'For last night'

'Oh' Santana shifted awkwardly. She and Quinn hadn't been on the best terms recently but she knew that deep down even with all the stupid bitchiness that had passed between them that the blonde cared for her 'Well it wasn't your fault, some people are assholes'

'Yeah but I shouldn't have just stood there. I should have...'

'What, chased them up to whatever floor they're on and gone ape-shit on them?' the brunette offered with a faint smile 'What good would that do?'

'I should have done something' the blonde stressed, looking guilty 'We've been friends for years and…I didn't know what to do'

'There's nothing you could have done Quinn, shit happens you just have to deal with it' the Latina replied, she tried not to sound defeated but it was hard to feel anything but when she remembered the smirking faces and the ache of her ribs.

Quinn reached out and grasped one of the other girls hands, intertwining their fingers 'I wish there was something I could do, but I…I didn't even know what to say to you'

'We haven't exactly been friends for a while' Santana shrugged, her voice tinged with guilt as she looked down at their hands with a smile trying to hide her discomfort at the display of affection, 'But you're here now'

'I should have been there last night instead of letting Rachel take charge' the blonde sighed, 'But I was a coward'

'It's pretty impossible to stop Rachel taking charge of anything' Santana joked, wondering why the singer had apparently wanted to come to her aid. She assumed the other girl had actually wanted her bag; it never crossed her mind that it was a ploy to see her.

Quinn smiled at this as she looked at her friend 'I promise, from now on I'll be there for you, okay?'

'Thanks' Santana smiled as the blonde gave her a quick if somewhat awkward hug. As they broke apart she spotted Britney heading towards them and gave the dancer a small wave indicating for her to come over. She had been slightly bitchy with her friend yesterday after finding out she had picked Quinn as her room-mate but after everything that had happened it seemed petty and besides, it had worked out in her favour in the long run.

As the two girls broke apart Santana asked Quinn 'Did anyone tell Britney about last night?'

Quinn shook her head 'Not really, she overheard some of us talking but we only told her the basics, I figured you wouldn't want her to get upset'

'Thanks you' Santana replied sincerely, glad that the blonde knew her so well.

As the tall blonde made her way over to her friends Santana could see she was grinning 'What is she so happy about?'

Quinn turned around and then suddenly shot back to face Santana 'Oh god'

'Hey, did you and Rachel have sex last night?' Britney asked as she bounced over and took a seat next to Quinn.

'What?' Santana blanched, her voice way too high for her liking as her eyes flicked between the two blondes 'No!'

'Oh' said Britney frowning 'But she was looking at you like she's seen you naked'

Quinn grimaced, Britney had never had the best timing in the world but this particular sneak attack was pretty stunning. The blonde threw Santana an apologetic look but couldn't help but laugh at the shocked expression on her face. This soon turned to a glare which silenced her giggles.

'No, no…we did not-'

'So, she just wants to see you naked then?' the taller blonde continued innocently, as if she were trying to work out the situation.

Santana took a calming breath, 'Where is this coming from?'

'You have been kind of having eye-sex across the room all morning' Quinn interjected, shrugging as the brunette glared at her 'Well you have. And I know that that song had some subtext to it, but everyone in the room needed a cold shower when you two were done. Why do you think Puck was cheering so loudly?'

'No we haven't' Santana tried to defend, but was only met with disbelieving eyes 'Look, last night we got talking and she's actually not so bad and we decided to try not being at each other's throats, happy?'

'I didn't believe that when Rachel said it and I don't now. You're the worst liar I know have I ever told you that?' Quinn stated smiling as Britney nodded next to her.

Santana was silent; she couldn't work out what angle the two girls were playing. Deep down she knew that neither of her friends would really have a problem with her dating a girl, even if it was Rachel, but she wasn't entirely sure why they were quizzing her about it.

'You talked? Nothing else happened last night?' Britney asked, disappointment in her voice as she turned to Quinn 'I knew it wouldn't work'

Quinn shot Britney a glare as she gestured for the blonde to be quiet, already knowing that their plan had just been blown.

'Wait, what are you talking about?'

Before Quinn could reply Britney had already blurted out 'Our plan'

She saw Quinn slap her forehead in despair at the dancer, 'Seriously B, remember when we had that long talk about keeping this a secret?'

Britney shook her head blankly.

'Why am I not surprised?' the blonde muttered good-naturedly. Turning to face Santana she held her hands up in surrender 'Okay, promise not to be mad…'

'I promise nothing' the Latina growled.

'We might have altered the room arrangements so you and Rachel had to share'

'What?' the brunette screeched 'Why would you do that?'

Edging back Quinn smiled nervously 'There's a lot of tension-'

'Sexual tension' Britney added with a helpful smile.

'Between you and we figured it would give you two a chance to talk and you know work some things out' Quinn concluded, shooting Britney a warning look.

As her friend trailed off Santana raised an eyebrow 'What do you mean work things out?'

'Oh come on' Quinn said, her calm resolve crumbling as she threw up her hands in despair 'It's obvious you like her. You've always been a step away from pulling her hair and pushing her in the sand pit'

'It's true' Britney added happily 'Actually when we were eleven and we went on that field trip to some sports place you did push her in a sand pit'

'It was for the long-jump' Santana mumbled 'And she deserved it'

Quinn smirked 'Deserved it how?'

'I don't remember' the brunette lied, avoiding eye contact with the two girls.

'I do' Britney offered, waving her hand around as if asking Quinn to pick her. When the smaller blonde nodded she continued 'You asked her if she wanted to share a slushie with you and she said no'

Quinn laughed at this, imagining a young Santana sulking 'See, you've always had it bad for her'

'Shut up' Santana replied, blushing as she remembered one of her first encounters with Rachel.

The blondes giggled at their friend's uncharacteristic embarrassment, it was Quinn who spoke next 'So what really happened last night?'

Santana bit her lip nervously, she didn't want to explain everything that had happened but she also knew she couldn't explain how they had ended up sharing a bed without telling the rest of the story. Turning to Britney she tried to change the subject 'Are you sure you wanna hear this?'

She and Britney might never have officially dated, but they had spent more than a few nights together pushing the boundaries of friends with benefits and she had to admit, even though they hadn't slept together in a while she was still very aware that they had once been more than friends.

Britney nodded 'Of course, it was my plan to change the rooms. I see the way you look at her'

For her part Quinn looked a little uncomfortable, she had guessed there was something going on between the two but it had never been confirmed. As she looked between the two now she stayed quiet.

'So did anything happen?' Britney pried.

Santana settled for a half-truth 'Nothing happened last night but…we kissed this morning'

Quinn squealed happily bouncing up and down as she clapped her hands together in accomplishment 'Oh my god, I knew it! Does this mean you're dating now?'

'Sex isn't dating' Britney answered, earning a gentle slap on the leg from Santana.

'We didn't have sex' the brunette all but shouted, cringing as her voice echoed around them before adding 'But yeah, we're dating I think. I don't know, it's still pretty new y'know and it's…Rachel'

Quinn smiled at the confusion mixed with happiness in her friend's voice 'Are you going to tell anyone?'

Santana shrugged 'We kind of agreed to keep it quiet but I guess that didn't work so well. I don't mind if the glee guys find out but…'

'You're not worried about the jerks at school at you?' Quinn asked, all too aware what it meant to fall from the top of the social chain to the bottom.

'No' the brunette replied instantly 'The more time I spend thinking about it the less I care what they all think but Coach Sylvester…there's no way she'll let me stay on the squad if I'm with Rachel'

Quinn frowned 'Because it's a girl, or because it's Rachel?'

'I don't know, both probably. She cut someone a few weeks ago because she thought one of their legs was longer than the other. What chance do I have if she finds out about me and Rachel?'

'You've still got us and Glee' Britney interjected, suddenly pulling Santana into a hug and somehow managing to drag Quinn in as well 'We love you no matter who you date'

Santana grinned as she hugged her friends, 'You guys are awesome'

Once they had untangled themselves Britney hopped to her feet, twirling slightly before extending a hand to each of her friends and pulling them to their feet gracefully. As the trio headed inside Santana and Quinn walked side by side, the brunette let out a laugh as she watched Britney frantically chase after a squirrel, a happy grin on her face as the furry creature ran up a tree and began jumping from branch to branch.

The Latina could feel Quinn watching her, and turning to her friend with a raised eyebrow she knew it wouldn't be long before the blonde finally said whatever was on her mind 'What?'

The blonde let out a playful smirk as she shrugged 'Nothing'

'Spill it'

'I was just wondering...our rooms are next to each other and I heard Rachel singing the other day, it sounded a lot like defying gravity…'

'So?' Santana asked impatiently, stopping to stare at the blonde.

'I just wanted to ask, if you plan on making Berry 'hit the high notes' later tonight…could you do it when I'm not trying to sleep?' Quinn replied laughing.

Santana blushed, and in lieu of a witty comeback managed to stutter a few basic vowel sounds before reaching out to swat the blonde. For her part Quinn managed to dodge the playful attack and broke off into a run, her laughter floating across the open space. As Santana watched the blonde she shook her head in disbelief before setting off after her friend.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N – One quick disclaimer, I'm English so I have no idea about school grades or phone numbers in the US so go with it, and take any errors as poetic license : )**

**As promised some Pezberry goodness, this was a lot of fun to write Santana and Rachel are my favourite thing to write and I'm loving trying to get in Santana's head. Enjoy…and prepare for more Pezberry next with a little angst! **

**Chapter Ten**

Santana finally managed to catch up with Quinn as she entered the hotel lobby, and giving the blonde a gentle slap on the arm she grinned. She had missed Quinn, before all the baby drama and the issues with the cheerios the two had been really close, and Santana felt bad when she realised how much their friendship had been affected the last few years. She had wanted so badly to create this persona where no one would dare mess with her that she had ended up pushing away one of the few people who actually cared about her. She knew she wasn't entirely to blame; Quinn had her own reasons for wanting to rise to the top of the social hierarchy and the two had kind of fallen into an unspoken pact to stride to be the head bitches in charge. They had worked hard to form their popular image, to rule the school as cheerios, but the thing was somewhere along the line the two had stopped being friends and their relationship had twisted into something Santana no longer recognised. Even though they didn't realise it at the time, joining Glee had been the start of them rediscovering their friendship and Santana could only hope that they would be able to find a way back to how they had been before.

Looking up at the blonde Santana was glad to finally catch her breath as she muttered, 'You have a filthy mind'

Quinn shook her head in mock-out rage 'I do not, but I have been waiting for months to say that'

'Months?' Santana asked 'This is how you spend your time, thinking of dirty sex puns?'

'No. I spend my spare time helping Britney devise plans to push you and Rachel together, have you never noticed you end up standing next to her in like, every song we perform?'

Santana rolled her eyes, but hesitated as she looked at her grinning friend. The more she thought about it, she did seem to end up spending a lot of time slotting in next to the diva, especially considering she didn't really sing all that much.

'Is that your eureka face?' Quinn asked sweetly, grabbing the brunettes hand and dragging her towards were the rest of the group were assembling.

Santana allowed herself to be propelled towards the dining room as she replayed the events through her head, 'How did you manage to do it?'

'No one can say no to Britney' the blonde replied wisely, 'It's like kicking a puppy'

Santana nodded at this, she knew from experience that the blonde could pretty much get her way whenever she wanted something; she was so genuinely friendly and innocent that people never assumed she had ulterior motives. Everyone underestimated the dancer, but when she wanted to Britney could put together a plan that would make the great escape look like child's play.

As the two cheerleaders entered the room they were greeted with a range of hellos from the other members who already surrounded their table. Pulling up two chairs the girls squeezed themselves in around the circular table. They had only been sat down for a few moments when Rachel came bounding into the room, a huge smile on her face as she spotted Santana.

Trying to retain a degree of secrecy the diva pulled up a chair opposite, 'Hey guys'

The rest of the group briefly acknowledged the singer before turning back to whatever it was they were doing, but Santana found herself mesmerised by the other brunette. Whipping out her phone under the table she tapped a quick message to the diva, then realised she didn't actually have her number stored on her phone, frowning she was broken out of her dilemma by her phone buzzing. Glad she had set it on silent; she glanced down smiling as she read the message.

_1-458-258-3458 Q x_

Santana let out a quiet chuckle to herself as she looked up and mouthed a quick thanks to Quinn. Then tapping in the number she prayed that Rachel had the decency to set her phone to silent, otherwise they were about to get busted. She let out a sigh of relief, then another chuckle, as she watch the brunette jump as her phone vibrated in her pocket. As the singer took it out Santana saw her break out into a huge smile. Seconds later her phone buzzed again.

_You're sexts might be too hot to delete Santana, but it will take more than that to convince me to sneak away with you x_

Santana re-read the message, and then looked up to see the unmistakable challenge on the diva's face. The Latina bit her lip in concentration, she had a lot of experience sexting but this was different. This was Rachel. The cheerleader racked her brains for something appropriate to send. She knew the diva wouldn't be as easily flattered by the kind of messages she had sent Puck or Britney, her previous message had proved that. No, Rachel wanted and deserved something romantic. The problem was Santana couldn't think of a damn thing, she wasn't exactly the dating type and had never thought of herself as someone who would send sappy texts. But for Rachel, she was willing to try. And then it struck her, she knew exactly to right thing to send even if it did make her want to gag at little.

_There are a million stars and a million dreams…you are the only star for me, the only dream I dream x_

Santana hesitated as she held her finger over the send button. She briefly wondered if she was coming on to strong, she didn't want Rachel to feel as though she was pressuring her or trying to move to fast. But on the other hand, she had been challenged and Santana Lopez never backed down from a challenge. She snuck a quick look at the girl opposite her and saw she was making a gesture for her to send whatever she had been typing. Taking a deep breath she hit send.

She couldn't watch to see Rachel's reaction; she couldn't quite believe she had sent such a sappy message and half of her wondered if the diva wouldn't go storming from the room in protest. But if Santana was honest with herself she was also pretty proud at working in a musical lyric and a mention of stars to her romantic texts that way Rachel would know the message was for her and her alone.

Santana was so wrapped up congratulating herself on her hard work that she almost missed Rachel's sudden exit from the room. The group had become so accustomed to the diva's storm outs that they paid little attention, if fact the cheerleader wondered if anyone had even noticed her leave. For once she was glad for the regularity of the diva's quick exits, no-one noticed her leave and no-one noticed the look of pain that flashed across the cheerleaders face.

Running a hand through her hair the brunette sighed, she had been worried since the first time Rachel had shown her any kind of friendship that she'd screw this up but this was a record even for her. The sound of her phone buzzing drew the cheerleader away from what was fast becoming a full blown pity-party and she looked down at the screen uncertainly.

_Meet me by the fountain. We need to talk._

Santana's heart sank as she read the short message; in her experience 'we need to talk' never led to anything good. She debated ignoring the message, but eventually figured that if she was about to get her heart stomped on she might as well get it done quickly. She was no coward after all. With a heavy heart the Latina made some half-hearted excuse, ignoring Quinn's concerned look, before leaving the table and heading off in the direction of the fountain.

She had barely made it any distance down the hallway when she felt a hand encircle her wrist and she was dragged into a nearby cupboard. Santana was momentarily disorientated as panic welled within her and she tried to work out what was happening, the sound of door slamming shut making her focus on the girl in front of her. Or she would have done, had she not found herself pressed tightly against a wall of the cupboard.

'What are you-' Santana tried to ask, but her words were silenced quickly.

The feel of Rachel's lips upon her own was different this time, before their kisses had been hesitant and tentative but as the singer wrapped her arms around the cheerleader Santana felt their bodies melt together the fierce intensity of the embrace setting her skin on fire. As her mind caught up she felt her body spring into action, her own hands grasping at the smaller girl urging her closer as they each tried desperately to lose themselves in the other. Santana let out a low moan as she felt Rachel's thigh slip between her legs, pushing upwards into her centre her hips grinding down as she mirrored the action. They moved together, hands roaming under shirts, tangled in hair the sounds of their ragged breath filling the room.

Oxygen quickly become an issue as the two girls battled for dominance, and it was Rachel who broke away first, her face flushed as she smiled at the cheerleader she had managed to pin against the wall. Santana returned the smile, her heart pounding in her chest as she leant forward drawing the singer into another kiss. It was tender this time, slow and caring as the Latina took the time to memorise the way Rachel moved against her.

Breaking the kiss Santana gazed at the smaller girl as she cupped her cheek, her voice little more than a whisper 'You're beautiful'

Rachel's smiled faltered for a second as she glanced down, it was so small that Santana would have missed it had she not been focused so intently on the smaller brunette, dipping her head to catch the singers eye Santana searched the others girls face for some kind of clue, 'Rach, what's the matter?'

'Nothing' she replied, her voice sounded strained 'Its…it's nothing'

Santana bit her lip as she looked at the quiet girl in front of her, tucking a stray hair behind the singer's ear she whispered 'You can tell me'

'I'm not beautiful'

The words were uttered so quietly Santana had to strain forward to hear them, even in the silence of the cupboard. She almost wished she hadn't heard though, as the belief behind the small statement cut right through the cheerleader because she knew she was at least part of the reason Rachel truly believed what she was saying.

'Pretty, maybe…but I'm nothing special'

Santana's heart clenched as the small girl continued, her tone so accepting of her own lies that the Latina couldn't stand it and when the singer began to edge away from their embrace it was more than she could take.

Grasping a one hand around the smaller frame she pulled Rachel closer, her other hand moving to the back of the diva's neck pulled her in so their lips crashed together once more. She wanted to show the other girl how beautiful she was, how much she wanted her. Breaking apart the Latina stared down at Rachel, the guilt evident in her eyes as she reiterated 'You. Are. Beautiful'

She punctuated each word with a short kiss, her hand drawing gentle circles on the small of Rachel's back as it snuck under her shirt and was met with smooth skin.

'Santana…'

The defeated tone only served to reinforce the cheerleaders resolve. It had been stupid to think that Rachel had managed to go so long enduring the taunts and abuse of the popular crowd without it affecting her. In so many ways she had stayed strong, she had faced most of the horrors the popular kids had thrown at her but hearing Rachel say she wasn't beautiful hurt Santana more than she could ever have thought.

Tilting the singers head so they were eye-to-eye the cheerleader began 'I don't make a habit of telling people they're beautiful everyday okay? When I say it, I mean it-'

'But-'

'Shut up' the cheerios said softly 'I know that I've spent a lot of time putting you down, insulting you and you have no idea how guilty I feel right now. But I swear to you I would do anything to go back and change it because there is no way you should ever think you're anything other than stunning. All those things I did because-'

'Because you didn't want people to do them to you?' Rachel supplied.

Santana half-nodded as she agreed that much was true, it sounded a whole lot worse hearing someone else say it out loud but a lot of her bitchiness had been about deflecting away any insults direct towards her, she had admitted as much the day before. But there was more to it, Santana just wasn't sure if she was ready for Rachel to know.

Leaning her head back against the wall Santana sighed, 'Do you remember when we went on that stupid field trip in sixth grade?'

Rachel nodded slowly, a strange look crossing her features.

'And now you're remembering me pushing you in the sand pit, right?'

Rachel nodded again.

'Do you know why I did it?' Santana asked, her breath catching in her throat when Rachel shook her head. She had been hoping the singer would remember at least some of what had happened 'I was with Britney and you were by yourself, and you looked sad. I…I heard one of the boys making fun of you, and I wanted to punch him so bad because he was making you cry, just like he used to do to me. When I came over to you he left pretty quickly, I'd already started scaring people by then…you were so upset…'

'It was my first week' Rachel added, not sure where the Latina was going with her story.

'Yeah I remember' the cheerleader acknowledged a guilty look on her face as she continued 'I asked you if you were okay and…and I offered you some of my slushie but I didn't…I mean you…'

Rachel frowned as if trying to remember that day, then it was if a light had been switched as she sighed 'Oh my god'

Santana nodded when she realised they were both on the same page.

'I corrected your grammar' Rachel murmured.

'And my pronunciation actually' the cheerio pointed out with a shrug, before adding 'Still hate watermelon slushies'

'I didn't know' the singer stammered 'I would never-'

Santana held up her hand to silence Rachel's babbling 'You also said…that even though I messed up my words, I had a nice voice and pretty eyes'

Rachel nodded as she remembered; her nostalgia was cut short as she recalled the next part 'Why did you push me?'

Santana sighed, 'Because you confused me. I wanted to be this badass that no-one would mess with but straight away you picked up on the one thing I was trying to hide. But you were also nice. You liked my accent, my eyes, all the things that made me different that I was ashamed off. And…I liked you. I was trying so hard to be this other person and then there you were, reminding me who I was. I'd only just started putting my walls up and you were already smashing them down'

'I'm sorry' Rachel said hesitantly.

'God, don't apologise' Santana said loudly 'I'm the one who should be apologising…how can you even stand to be anywhere near me?'

Rachel didn't hesitate 'Because I see you. You think I never noticed all the little things you did even when you were trying to be head bitch?'

Santana frowned, 'What are you talking about?'

'You never once slushied me when I was wearing white, you always conveniently covered me in your drink when you knew a bathroom was near-by and you always, always use grape'

'It's your favourite flavour' Santana mused, snapping back to reality when she realised she'd been busted 'Why didn't you ever say anything?'

'I figured you had your reasons and eventually things would change. I never thought it would happen like this' Rachel admitted, gesturing between there closely locked bodies 'I guess sometimes it takes something bad to make you see things differently'

'Except maybe it wasn't a bad thing' Santana began, trailing off as she took in Rachel's confused look 'No, I mean it was bad…but maybe I deserve all that crap, y'know payback for all the times I made your life hell. You might have noticed I'm not exactly a nice person'

'No-one deserves that Santana' the singer stated adamantly 'I'm not saying I understand everything you did, but it doesn't mean you're not a nice person. I'm willingly to put the past aside-'

'Why?' the cheerio blurted out unable to wrap her head around the idea that someone other than Brittany wanted to be around her. Generally people didn't opt to spend extended periods of time around her, especially people who had spent a good amount of time having drinks thrown at them 'You were nothing but nice to me and I threw it all back in your face because…because…'

'Because you were scared' Rachel stated confidently 'I'm not saying I will ever completely understand your actions but I know that under all that front, there's the girl who offered me a slushie and wanted to protect me. You're worth it'

Santana blinked, that was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her. A smile played at her lips 'I am?'

Rachel nodded with a playful grin 'As long as you promise not to push me in the sand it this time'

'Promise' Santana said, her eyes fluttering shut as Rachel placed a soft kiss on her cheek 'I meant what I said you know'

'Mmmm?' Rachel mumbled, as she placed a row a kisses across Santana's neck.

'You are beautiful, and not just because you're smoking hot…you're not like everyone else'

'And that's a good thing?' the singer queried as she pulled back to look at the Latina.

'It's a great thing, it's just taken me a long time to realise it' Santana replied honestly, hoping Rachel would catch the double meaning behind her words.

Rachel simply smiled in return and leant forward to catch the other girls lips 'You know, the others are going to wonder where we are'

Santana sighed contently as she pulled the smaller girl closer 'Let them wonder'


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N – Okay so a PezBerry heavy chapter, it's so much fun to put these two together and see what happens I wish it would happen more on the show! I have almost finished writing the next couple of chapter so they should be up soon, I'm now debating where to end this story either after the competition ends or take it bad to McKinley and see how the girls deal being back at school. **

**Any thoughts feel free to review! **

**Chapter Eleven**

Santana wondered how in the hell none of the other members of glee had noticed that both she and Rachel had disappeared in the middle of their club meeting for a substantial amount of time. The cheerleader could believe that no-one really missed her presence but Rachel was the core of the whole group, whether the others wanted to admit it or not. Plus she was loud, really loud.

'What exactly do we say if anyone asks where we were?' Rachel piped up as the two strolled back together.

'That we're two strong-willed, independent young women and if we want to go make-out in a storage room then we will' Santana replied, enjoying the look of shock that passed over her girlfriend's face 'That, or we were having a raging bitchfest over who left the bathroom in a mess this morning, whatever'

Rachel rolled her eyes as she playful knocked shoulders with the other girl 'It would be worth seeing the look on Puck's face to go with option number one'

'Ew' the Latina stated with a shudder 'I do not want us to become part of his wank-tank imagery box'

'Point taken'

'Besides I'm sure Quinn will have covered for us' Santana said with a smile.

Rachel frowned as she stopped to look at the cheerleader 'Quinn? Why?'

'She screwed around with the room arrangements so we'd get put together, something about unresolved sexual tension' Santana chuckled, 'I forgot how devious she can be'

'Oh…it's kind of hard to be mad at her when she was right' Rachel shrugged, 'You know…there's only ten minutes left with the meeting and if Quinn's taken it upon herself to act as matchmaker, perhaps we should make the most of our opportunity and spend some time alone together?'

'Rachel Berry, are you suggesting we skip our responsibilities and go make out some more?'

Rachel beamed as she wrapped their hands together and tugged on the cheerleader's hand 'That is exactly what I'm suggesting'

'This is a new side of you Berry, I didn't think you had it in you to skip anything'

'Well I guess you're a bad influence on me' the diva joked.

Santana forced a laugh, even as she felt a heavy weight on her chest she managed to smile, years of practice making it easy to keep her care-free facade in place. She didn't want the diva to realise she'd hit a nerve.

'Santana! Rachel!'

Hearing their names shouted in the distance the cheerleader looked up and spotted the rest of the glee club headed their way, led by Quinn and Britney who both wore matching grins as their eyes flicked between the two brunette's.

'Hey' the two girls replied in unison, discreetly untangling their hands and taking a step away from each other.

'We're going to find Mr Shue, he said he'd be here but no-one's heard from him since this morning' Finn said with a frown as he looked at the two girls 'What are you guys doing anyway?'

'None of your business Frankenteen' Santana snapped, it wasn't that she disliked Finn any more than she disliked most people but seeing the way the football player was eyeing up Rachel made her blood boil. She wanted to yell at him to keep his sad puppy dog eyes to himself but restrained herself to casting a disgusted look in his direction.

'Come on' Quinn interrupted, sensing the tension before any of the others could 'He has to be around here somewhere'

As the words left her mouth the calm of the hotel was broken by the sound of shouting in the distance. The glee club looked at each out for a moment before simultaneously heading in the direction the voices were coming from, after all drama was what they did best.

The group entered the lobby and were greeted by the sight of Mr Shue staring down a chubby, middle aged man who was gesturing wildly at him his face slowly turning red as he barked at Mr Shue 'I don't know who you think you are coming to me and making wild allegations about my students'

'That must be Jackson High's faculty advisor, Mr Barton' Tina whispered, pointing out the obvious.

Santana groaned, this was exactly what she had wanted to avoid. A public slanging match which would more than likely end in nothing being resolved but everyone leaving angrier than before and she really did not want to make those jerks any angrier. She glanced around the large room and noticed members of several of the other glee clubs observing the scene and the cheerleader cringed she did not want everyone here thinking she was some weak, defenceless loser who couldn't stand up for herself.

Before she could really contemplate what she was doing Santana was storming over to the two teachers, gritting her teeth she steeled herself as she approached them.

'You have no right to insinuate that my students are-'

'Oh I'm not insinuating' Mr Shue argued 'I'm telling you that your glee club needs to take a serious look at what kind of values and beliefs they subscribe to because it is completely unacceptable for anyone to be judged by the colour of their skin'

'You have no proof'

Santana growled as she took her place next to her teacher 'I think you'll find a room full of witnesses is proof'

'Let me guess you're the girl who's been causing all this trouble' Mr Barton sneered, as he looked Santana up and down.

'She's not the one causing trouble' Mr Shue interjected, but quickly found himself cut off.

'No, no I see what you're doing now' the other teacher shouted as he turned his attention fully to Santana 'You concocted this elaborate story to get attention am I right?'

'What?' Santana and Mr Shue shouted in unison, their voices echoed by the teens behind them.

'Did you think this would give you the edge in the competition, make everyone feel sorry for you and your group of misfits so you can sweep to victory?'

'How dare you accuse Santana of-'

Mr Barton didn't even acknowledge the other man as he continued to rant at the Latina 'My kids worked hard to get where they are today and they didn't do by making false accusations and lying. God, it's not enough that this country lets people like you in, no you have to take advantage of the race card at every opportunity you can to try and get ahead of us regular folk. Well it's not going to work this time, you can't manipulate everyone into thinking you're the victim when obviously you're just a self-conscious, deceitful little-'

'That's is enough!' Mr Shue shouted, his voice ripping through the lobby and silencing the other man 'You should be ashamed of yourself'

Mr Barton scoffed but stayed quiet as he watched the rest of the glee club join together, each of them casting the bigoted man a fierce glare.

'I think it would be best if you left now Mr Barton' Rachel piped up as she took her place next to Santana, glaring at the older man.

'Fine, but stay away from my students' he threatened, throwing one last look of disgust in the Latina's way before storming out of the room.

Watching him leave Santana frowned as she wondered how she could go from feeling so good to so bad in such a short amount of time. She wished she had just stayed locked away in that storage cupboard with Rachel, or better yet she had refused to get out of bed that morning.

'I'm sorry Santana' Mr Shue said as he turned to face the group with a look of regret.

'It's not your fault' the cheerleader replied, trying to sound unfazed.

The teacher shrugged as he looked at the glee club 'You shouldn't have to deal with this, any of you'

'There are some things you can't protect us from' Santana replied.

Mr Shue sighed 'Maybe, but this isn't one of them. That group have no right to be here representing their school'

'What are you gonna do, get them sent home?' Puck asked sarcastically.

'If that's what it takes' Mr Shue answered with a nod 'Then yes'

'God, can you not just leave it alone?' Santana exploded suddenly, making everyone jump 'You've already made it worse, so just stay out of it. We're only here for another day I just want to forget about it and stay as far away from them as possible until we're done okay?'

'Santana…'

'No Rachel, it's me they have a problem with and I can deal with it so drop it okay?' the cheerleader bit back, wincing as she saw the flash of hurt that crossed the divas face.

'Okay' the brunette said softly, diverting her eyes away from the Latina 'If that's what you want'

'It is' Santana said firmly, making sure the group knew she was talking to all of them.

'Okay' Mr Shue said reluctantly 'But if anyone of those guys so much as looks at you funny I'm stepping in and I will be getting them ejected from the competition, do you understand?'

'Fine' the cheerleader replied, scowling.

'Good, now it's time we got something to eat. We need to get an early night ready for tomorrow' the teacher said, though it was clear to see he was still unhappy with the situation.

'Whatever' Santana muttered, barely caring if the others even heard her. All she wanted was for this to be over, pushing past the group the cheerleader tried to maintain a mask of indifference.

Making her way out of the lobby and through the main doors Santana half-hearted wondered if anyone would follow her and by anyone she meant Rachel. The Latina had made it a good way down the street before she accepted that no-one was coming after her, and she didn't really blame them. She had wanted so badly to change her ways, to stop being the bitchy defensive girl everyone knew and actually let the group help her but she couldn't. On one hand it felt good to have all the others stand up for her but at the same time she hated it because it served to remind her that she didn't deserve any of the kindness they were offering, not after the way she had behaved in the past, and she defiantly didn't deserve Rachel.

She knew that by acting the way she just did that she was rejecting the rest of the group and she also knew that by snapping at Rachel she was pushing her away, she had known that at the time but it made sense, why should she risk Rachel getting hurt? Sure the diva could hold her own against most of the bullies out there but Santana knew that none of the crap she had put the other girl through even came close to the pain these guys could cause.

'Santana!'

The cheerleader was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear the shout in the distance; it was only the quick thud of feet that made her turn around. As she did she was met with the sight of Rachel hurrying towards her.

Turning her back again Santana continued to walk away, she didn't know where she was going she just knew she needed to get away. It was all too much and the cheerleader couldn't cope with having to face Rachel.

'Hey!'

The anger in the singer's voice made Santana wince but taking a deep breath she pushed down the pain that was welling up and plastered a look of contempt on her face. Years of training made it seem almost easy 'Go away'

'Stop right there' Rachel practically screeched, her years of performing amplifying her voice and echoing around the park Santana had stormed into.

The Latina stopped in her tracks, shocked she turned to face the tiny singer. She raised an eyebrow as she maintain what she hoped was a displease look 'What do you want?'

Rachel scoffed as she walked closer, stopping only when she was an arm's length away. Her face softened as she looked at the taller girl 'I want you to explain to me what that was back there'

'I don't know what you're talking about'

'I'm talking about you acting like you're okay with what those guys did, as though it's something you can just sweep under the rug and forget about. I mean, are you suddenly okay with what happened?'

'No!' Santana half-shouted, the uncertainty in her voice cutting through.

'Because I already told you that no matter what you may believe, you don't deserve this'

'Don't I?' the Latina asked, staring solemnly at the smaller girl 'Because from where I'm standing I deserve all this shit a lot more than I deserve a second chance'

'What?'

'Oh come one Rachel, I'm a complete bitch to you and the rest of the glee club for years and suddenly everyone wants to stick up for me? In what universe does that make sense? In what universe do I deserve any kind of friendship from them? From you?'

'I don't-'

Santana ploughed on her arms gesturing wildly as she felt tears beginning to build up 'You don't understand do you? I can't do this' the Latina shouted, pointing between the two of them 'I don't want you getting hurt because off me'

'I won't get hurt, those Jackson High Neanderthals are-'

'It's not that Rachel, you're too good for me and we both know that it would never work. I'll stomp on your heart, it's what I do'

Rachel stopped, her eyes widening as she took in the other girls words. Santana could see the tears building behind her eyes and forced herself to look away as the small girl whispered 'So all that stuff before, the sandpit and the slushies', that was all lies?'

'No!' Santana replied, raking a hair through her hair. Everything had seemed so much easier when they were alone before, but now it was all falling apart as the voice in her head sapped away at her confidence 'I do like you, I really do…that's why I'm doing this, don't you see? If you're with me then…there's always a risk you're going to get hurt-'

'You're not talking about those guys anymore are you' Rachel sighed.

Santana shook her head as she looked down 'I'm not worth the risk Rach. You deserve better'

'I already told you that you are' the singer insisted, as she took a step forward and placed a hand on the taller girl's cheek.

Santana sighed as she leant into the touch, she could feel the tears running down her face as she stared at the ground unable to look up 'I'm a lot of things but I'm not selfish and I won't risk your happiness for mine'

Rachel gritted her teeth, the muscles of her jaw tensing as she surveyed the girl in front of her. The two stood squared against each other as Santana finally looked up, neither of them was willing to look away as the tension built between them.

'You need to get as far away from me as possible Rach' Santana whispered sadly, her voice choked with sobs.

Rachel frowned, her mind working overtime as she tried to unite the broken girl she saw before her with the one she had been so used to seeing. She wanted to say something, anything to make the cheerleader understand what she was thinking but for the first time in her life her voice failed her. Instead, she leant forward slowly drawing the cheerio close, her arms encircling the girl in a tight embrace as she brought their lips together.

The kiss was gentle and tender and Santana melted into the soft touch, the closeness of the other girl pushing away all of the negative thoughts that had bombarded her. As they broke apart Santana made to move away but Rachel clung to her unwilling to let her go.

'Rachel' the Latina whimpered, hating how weak she sounded as she moved her arms up to the singer's chest trying in vain to push her away.

But Rachel held on tight, they battled for a moment but soon Santana slumped against her, the fight driven from her body as the diva whispered soothing words of comfort.

Santana held back a sob as she struggled to regain her composure 'You should run while you can'

'I'm not going anywhere' the diva stated firmly as she pulled back from the embrace to look at the other girl 'I know you think it's easier this way, that your saving me from potential heartbreak in the future by pushing me away now but it doesn't make any sense'

'It's easier this way'

'It doesn't feel easier to me' the singer replied, her own tears beginning to fall now 'You don't know what's going to happen between us and you can't push me away because of something that might happen. You might break my heart, but maybe I'll break yours'

Santana blinked in surprise, the thought of Rachel breaking her heart shouldn't make her feel better but somehow it did because she was starting to realise that she couldn't control what was going to happen and that was actually okay, because they would be together.

'Besides' Rachel added, her voice full of finality 'It's not your decision to make'

Santana nodded a small smile on her face as she heard the very-Rachel statement 'I know, I…I wanted to protect you'

'And normally I'd appreciate how sweet that is but I don't need protecting from you' Rachel smiled, added sadly as Santana looked up 'You seem like you might need protecting from yourself though'

The cheerleader frowned 'I don't-'

'You are worth so much more than you give yourself credit for, and I don't know why you have this urge to push everyone away but I'm telling you now you have got to stop thinking I'm going to leave because I'm not going anywhere'

Santana gazed at the other girl in disbelief, she had given Rachel every chance, every opportunity to take the easy road and abandon her but she was still here willing to be with her after everything that had happened and that gave Santana enough hope to at least try let Rachel past the walls she had spent so long building up.

'Promise?' Santana asked, the hope in her voice making the other girl smile.

'I promise'


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N – Hey guys, thanks again for all the reviews! This is a quick chapter before the big competition, I think there will only be a few more chapters based here before I take it back to McKinley and see what other issues I can throw at Santana…**

**Chapter Twelve**

When Santana woke up the next day she could already feel the butterflies in her stomach before she opened her eyes. The club had been rehearsing for today's competition intensely and Santana wanted to win more than anyone, with the possible exception of Rachel, she needed to win to prove a point. Nothing would make her happier than getting on that stage and showing those narrow minded Neanderthals what their group could do.

As the cheerleader finally cracked her eyes open she looked down to see the familiar form of Rachel draped across her, one arm wrapped firmly around the Latina as she snuggled into her side. Santana smiled as she felt the butterflies increase, and she knew it had nothing to do with performing later that day.

Rachel stirred slightly, her head nuzzling into Santana's chest as she sighed contently. The cheerio knew the other girl wouldn't stay asleep much longer but she was too busy enjoying her stolen moment to care if it was potential creepy to watch someone sleep without their knowledge especially when she should really be waking the smaller girl to get ready for the day ahead.

'How long have you been awake?' Rachel asked suddenly, her sleepy voice jolting the Latina from her thoughts.

Glad she couldn't see the blush creeping up her face the cheerio chuckled 'How did you know I was awake?'

'You've been doodling patterns on my back with your hand for the past ten minutes' the diva replied, grumbling when she felt the movements cease 'I didn't say stop, it's nice'

Santana smiled as she resumed what had been a subconscious gesture, 'This is nice'

It might not seem like a lot but Rachel could hear the hidden meaning behind the words and she knew that Santana had meant them in the most sincere way. Pulling herself up the singer hovered above the other girl, before leaning in to steal a quick kiss.

'Morning' she whispered with a grin as she pulled back to stare down at the cheerleader.

'Mmm…morning' Santana replied with a matching grin 'What time is it?'

Rachel shrugged, as she cast a quick glance to the clock next to them 'A little after seven'

The Latina groaned as she shifted deeper into the bed 'That is way to frigging early, it should be illegal to be awake before ten at the weekend'

'And people call me a drama queen' the singer joked as she stole another kiss 'Come on we have to be downstairs to meet everyone soon and we can't be late again'

With that Santana watched as Rachel pulled herself out of bed and busied herself getting ready, she couldn't help but admire the other girl as she moved gracefully around the room. It seemed strange that so much had changed between them in such a short space of time, but the cheerleader grinned as she realised the tiny singer had snuck past her defences and into her heart a long time ago.

Santana finally managed to get up, and grateful that she had an extra fast morning routine down thanks to years of early morning cheerio practices, she found herself ready much sooner than her girlfriend. Slumping back down on the bed she lay on her back and waited for Rachel to finish.

Staring up at the ceiling her mind began to wonder as she recalled the day before, her hand dropped to her stomach as she rubbed the still sensitive area. She was pleased that she had hidden what was now a huge bruise from Rachel but another part of her wanted to confide in the other girl. The only thing that stopped her was that she would undoubtedly react badly to the news and probably storm off and do something stupid, like confront the guys. So the cheerleader had stayed quiet, besides they would be gone soon and if she played her cards right no-one would have to know what had happened, the last thing Santana wanted was the glee club thinking she was pathetic enough to let some Neanderthal knock her on her ass.

'Okay, you have got to share your secret with me' Rachel said as she appeared beside the Latina.

'What?'

Rachel frowned at the panicked reply 'Getting ready so quickly….what did you think I meant?'

'Nothing. You just surprised me is all' Santana replied in what she hoped was a calm voice. Sensing that Rachel wasn't buying her cover up the cheerleader pulled herself to her feet and wrapped the smaller girl in a hug, placing a small kiss on her neck 'Come on, we better get going'

Traipsing down the stairs and into the lobby the couple soon found the rest of the group and after a quick breakfast they headed to the dressing room they had been allocated. Each team had been set up in their own room to prepare for the competition and while they were not performing they would get to be part of the audience. The competition was a relatively small one and Santana wondered if he organisers were just trying to make it look more successful than it was.

'Hey guys' Mr Shue beamed as the group of teens arrived 'Okay I've got the running order and we have a little time before the first club go on-'

'When are we on?' Rachel interrupted all business as usual.

'We're the last ones' the teacher replied, trying to ignore the groans of his students.

'We're last?' Puck complained as he sunk down into a chair 'That means we have to sit through the rest of these schmucks and try not to get psyched out'

'Whatever' Santana countered, mustering up all the confidence she had 'So we let them entertain us for a bit then we get up there and show them how it's actually done, it's not like Coach Sylvester's here to sabotage us, we got this'

Everyone looked at the cheerleader in mild shock, she had never been the one to give the group a pep-talk that duty was normally left to Rachel who smiled 'Couldn't have said it better myself'

'Right, so let's get ready' Finn added, a strange look on his face as his eyes flicked between the two brunettes'.

Nodding the group dispersed to sort out various hair and make-up that needed doing, Santana was about to make her way over to check Britney hadn't mixed up her mascara and lipstick again when she was stopped by Puck.

'Dude' he frowned, grabbing her by the arm and steering her gentle to the corner of the room and away from the others 'What is up with you lately?'

'I have no idea what you talking about'

'Spending all your time with Berry-'

'I have not been spending all my time with her' Santana stressed as she crossed her arms, not entirely sure why she was being so defensive 'Besides so what if I am, she's actually pretty cool'

Puck raised an eyebrow in response.

'Who are you to judge anyway Puck? It wasn't so long ago you and her were dating' Santana pointed out, the thought alone making the Latina cringe.

'So, you two are dating now?' he asked bluntly, a smile playing at his lips.

'No!' Santana replied, trying to keep her voice down.

'Riiiiight…so I was imagining the sexual tension between you guys when you were singing before?'

'We're not dating' Santana tried again, sounding even more unconvincing.

'You know I always thought it was Britney…but Rachel? Well you always did keep your cards close'

'We are not-' Santana tried again before cutting herself off as she processed the boys words 'Wait, what do you mean?'

'Come on Santana, we've known each other for a long time and even though you might not believe it, I'm not stupid. It was pretty obviously that every time we hooked up you were thinking of someone else. And I also knew it was probably a chick'

'You did?' Santana whispered her eyes drifting to the ground in guilt.

Puck sighed as he used his hand to lift the girl's chin to look at her 'I did. I figured you wouldn't want me to be the one to point it out…but it's obvious there's been someone else you wanted for a while'

Santana swallowed hard 'I didn't mean to use you, I swear'

'You didn't…well not really, we kind of used each other I guess' Puck admitted 'We're the two badasses of McKinley not exactly in our image to go around getting all mushy and crap'

The cheerleader laughed 'True'

'Does she make you happy?' Puck asked suddenly, the seriousness of his voice hitting Santana hard.

'More than I thought possible' the cheerleader admitted with a smile.

'Good' Puck nodded, drawing the girl in for a quick hug.

As the two broke apart Santana looked up 'There's one thing though, can you not tell anyone about me and Rachel? The only people who know apart from you are Quinn and Britney. We're going to tell the rest of the guys so if you need to gossip can you do it with them, and not the rest of the football team?'

Puck nodded 'Sure thing babe, but as soon as you're ready to let everyone know tell me, I'll make sure no –one gives you shit about it'

'Thanks Puck'

'But in the meantime, if you need someone to talk to about…you know, the details' Puck added with a wink 'Or if you need and tips…'

'You're disgusting' Santana replied, slapping his arm before shoving him away with a smug grin 'And believe me, I don't need any tips'

With that Santana watched Puck immediately bound over to the blonde cheerleaders, the three instantly breaking out into a hushed conversation which included more than a few knowing looks and from what Santana could make out a lot of _I told you so's._

'What did Puck want?'

The sound of Rachel's voice made the Latina jump, and spinning around she glared playfully at the other girl 'He wanted to know what was going on between us'

'Oh' Rachel sighed, looking at the floor 'Right'

Santana frowned as the other girls sudden deflation before something clicked, letting out a chuckle the cheerleader added 'Me and you us Rachel, not me and him'

The singer blinked, a grin slowly spreading on her face 'Oh…what did you tell him?'

'That you're kind of awesome' Santana began, adding nervously 'And that…we're dating?'

Rachel's eyes widened in surprise 'You told him we're dating?'

Santana nodded, 'I'm not going to hide what's going on between us. You make me happier than I've been in a long time and I want people to know about it. I'm not exactly crazy about the idea of going around telling everyone like we're making a statement or whatever but I'm not going to lie. Beside glee club is about expressing what's inside and being all accepting and crap right?'

Rachel simply rolled her eyes playfully at the crass assessment.

'What I'm trying to say is maybe it's okay if the rest of the glee guys find out…I mean if you want…' Santana trailed off, her confidence draining she tried to put on a cool exterior 'I mean it's fine, whatever, if you totally hate the idea'

'I don't hate it' Rachel laughed 'It's great, I was thinking of ways to break it them actually, perhaps some kind of a gathering…or there's this great song from-'

Santana groaned 'For someone so dramatic you're missing the most obvious thing'

'Wha-'

Rachel found herself abruptly cut off as the cheerleader suddenly drew their lips together, their bodies intertwining. The sound of cheers and cat calls in the distance quickly broke the intimate moment and as Santana drew back she grinned 'You're not the only one who knows how to be theatrical. I totally watched _Gone With the Wind_ like at least, twice…well once, most of it anyway'

Rachel returned the smile, blushing slightly as they turned to face the rest of the glee club.

'You owe us some big bucks Kurt'

Santana frowned as she watched Kurt fumble in his wallet and proceed to present Mercedes, Tina and Mike with crisp ten dollar bills 'Okay, what?'

Kurt sighed, as he handed his money over to his friends 'We made a small wager that you would come out of the closet before the end of High School. I didn't think you had the guts, but here we are. You cost me thirty dollars, do you have any idea what I could have brought with that? The new Calvin Klein range comes out in less than a week'

'You bet on me being gay?'

'Pfft, no way' Mercedes stated smiling 'We all agreed on that girl, we just bet on the time I'd take you to realise'

'I don't understand' Santana said blankly her eyes' flicking from person to person, even Britney was nodding knowingly.

It was Quinn who helped her out, walking across the room she came to a stop in front of the Latina girl 'You've always been a bit slow, but…let's just say everyone here had already brought and wrapped a copy of The L Word for you'

Santana squinted her eyes, glaring at the blonde as she realised 'You all figured it out before me? And no-one thought to mention it?'

'Have you met you?' Kurt said with wide eyes 'You're kind of scary, and glee geeks don't go around telling cheerleader that…they're kind of gay. And by kind of, I mean extremely'

Santana turned to Rachel 'We're you in on this?'

Holding her hands up in defence the singer couldn't hide her smile 'I might have figured it out before you yes, but at least I didn't make a wager on it'

'What are you guys doing?'

The sound of Mr Shue's confused voice cut through the room, and the glee club shared a look before turning to face their teacher.

'The competition starts in an hour and you're all stood around? Come on, let's move people!'

**A/N – Up next the big competition…**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N – The final show-down, I thought about including the songs each school would be performing but in the end i decided to write more about Santana's thoughts about being on stage, hopefully you guys like it. I have one more chapter written after this which will be the last chapter based away from Lima.**

**Reviews are love, and again a huge thanks for all comments/alerts it's great to get feedback and I love hearing what you guys think about this story it really helps keep me motivated! **

**Chapter Thirteen**

Santana could feel the nerves being to build as New Directions watched the other schools compete. The cheerleader knew it would be a stupid idea to have the other teams make up the first section of the audience but here they were, only feet away from those Neanderthals from Jackson High. She had tried to distract herself watching the others compete but she could still feel hateful eyes burning into her.

The opening group had been pretty impressive, staging their own version of a Grease tribute, and the cheerleader could still feel her girlfriend's hand gripping on to her own in worry. She had to whispered a few calming words to get the diva to loosen up a bit and even now she was only beginning to get the circulation back. Luckily the next two schools had been average at best, but now it was the turn of the penultimate act and the one New Directions would have to follow, Jackson High.

Santana watched in disgust as the students got up from the seats across from them to take to the stage, she tried to ignore the obnoxious smirk one of the guys threw in her direction, choosing instead to face the stage.

As they began their set Santana wanted to hate it, she wanted them to fail over, hit the wrong notes or do something to humiliate themselves so they could feel the way they had been making her feel. But she also wanted them to do the best they could, so when they lost to New Directions, the cheerleader would know they had won fair and square. She was so caught up in her conflicting thoughts she almost stopped watching, until Quinn who was sat on the other side of her nudged her shoulder.

'They're pretty good' the blonde whispered, and it was hard to deny her that 'But we are so much better'

Santana nodded with a determined smile. It was true Jackson High were good, their song choice was solid and there choreography and singing were clearly well organised and rehearsed. Looking around Santana saw members of the audience singing along and for a moment she let herself worry. But looking at the two girls she was sat between Santana smiled, these jerks were going down.

As the school finished their final number, Santana prepared herself for the volley of applause she grudgingly admitted their performance deserved. They might be a bunch of ignorant jerks but from the outside there was no way the rest of the theatre would think them different from any of the other acts. Gritting her teeth the cheerleader waited, but rather than the thunder of applause she had expected there was a much more muted response.

'What the hell?' she heard Quinn muttered 'Santana, look'

The cheerleader followed the blondes gaze and realised that although the audience were cheering, every single student and faculty member from the other schools were sat still. No clapping. No cheering. Not even a smile could be seen as they all faced the stage solemnly. For all the previous acts everyone had been on their feet but now they were silent. The rest of the audience were quick to notice and the applause died now almost immediately.

A confused looking man with a microphone came wandering on to the stage 'Ooooook, thank you Jackson High. Up next from McKinley High we have New Directions'

The other school filtered off the stage quickly obvious angry with the reception they had received from the other schools. Santana managed to ignore the heated stares she, and the rest of the club, were getting and followed her friends onto the stage.

'What the hell was that?' Puck whispered as they all began to take their places for their first song 'Did we plan some kind of revenge that I was not included in? Because I am not okay with that'

'What? No' Quinn replied, rolling her eyes at the boy 'It was pretty weird though maybe-'

'Guys' Finn hissed as he pushed his way past Santana and stood close to Rachel 'Can we do this thing already? We'll have plenty of time to talk after'

Santana glared and was about to make a snide remark when the lights began to dim, signalling their cue. She cast one last look at Rachel, who smiled and mouthed good luck, then readied herself for the opening song.

Being on stage always felt like a release to Santana, a freedom she had never found anywhere else in her life. Sure she had cheerios but this was completely different. She wasn't worried about making a mistake or how she looked and it wasn't about being perfect. Being a part of glee gave her the opportunity to let out everything that she normally keep bottled up inside, she could stand on stage and sing her heart out and it was okay to be vulnerable and to be honest, and it was somehow easier. Santana was the first to admit that she was uncomfortable dealing with her feelings but finding that she could pick a song to express herself and then really belt it out had been the best kind of therapy she could have imagined. All the rage, the anger and isolation she had tried to keep hidden had finally found an outlet, and it was as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She knew that Brittney had noticed, only last week the blonde had been saying that Santana seemed happier, more relaxed, and it was true. She didn't go around terrorising freshman or intimidating the other students, well not as much anyway.

As she moved around the stage, the carefully organised choreography bringing her next to Rachel for a moment, she shared a smile with the smaller girl. Everything seemed so simple in that moment, the exhilaration of performing combined with the butterflies she got in her stomach every time she looked at Rachel made the cheerleader wonder why life couldn't feel so good all the time.

One song blurred into the next and entirely too quickly for Santana's liking their turn was over. Standing with the group as they completed their big finale the cheerleader grinned as she heard the applause ring out through the auditorium. She was vaguely aware of the cheers but was distracted as she felt slender arms wrap tightly around her as Rachel pulled her in for a celebratory hug.

'We did it' the smaller brunette beamed, her arms crushing around the cheerleader 'We were awesome'

Santana wanted to return the smile but the pressure against her bruised ribs caused the Latina to wince, hissing slightly as she withdrew from the hug she tried to remain casual even as she felt a pang of guilt at the hurt on her girlfriends face.

'What's wrong, are you okay?' Rachel asked with concern.

'I'm fine' Santana replied, hoping she could pass it off with a shrug.

'Wait, you're not-' the diva began, realisation crossing her features as she glanced around them 'Oh'

'Oh?' Santana queried in confusion, unable to read the other girls expression.

'It's fine. I get it'

With that the smaller girl clenched her jaw and pushed past Santana with some determination as she quickly left the stage. Santana barely had time to process what had happened when she felt Quinn and the others ushering her off stage too.

As Santana took her seat, she was painfully aware of the distance between her and Rachel, the singer seemed to have sat as far away as possible and was defiantly ignoring her worried glances.

'Rachel' Santana tried to whisper across the row 'Rach'

When she received no response the cheerleader leant back in her seat, letting out a huff of frustration. Santana racked her brains as she tried to work out what the hell had happened, she knew Rachel was well-known for her high maintenance behaviour and her ability to be overly dramatic but somehow Santana had a feeling this was not one of those times.

A loud voice broke her train of thought and looking up Santana saw they were about to announce the winners.

'First off all a big thank you to all off our fantastic choirs, you all put on an amazing show'

Santana rolled her eyes, chuckling as she saw Quinn do exactly the same thing.

'But now after a lot of deliberating by our judges, in reverse order, the winners of the third annual Elkhart Show Choir Competition…'

Santana knew she wasn't the only one holding her breath as the man looked down at the results in his hand, as the seconds ticked by the cheerleader wondered how unacceptable it would be to shout at him to hurry the hell up.

'In third place, from Liberty high School Music in Motion'

Praising whatever power in the universe had finally made this guy speak Santana clapped along with the rest of the crowd as she watched the other school make their way onto the stage to collect their trophy. It took a while for the crowd to quieten down again but when they did Santana felt the nervous energy begin to build once more.

'This next decision was a tough one; there were two schools that stood out this year'

Santana felt her breath catch in her throat; casting a glance over to Jackson High she could see the students staring with equal intensity as they leant forward in their seats.

'In second place' the compare announced with a smile 'From Jackson High School, Sound Check'

The crowd clapped, but again the other schools' stayed quiet as the students rose to collect their trophy. Swooping down the aisle Santana watched as the guys who had been making her life misery took to the stage with the rest of their choir and accepted their trophy. Growling under her breath as the blonde jerk who had punched her cheered along with his teammates Santana had never been more on edge.

'And now the moment we have all been waiting for, in first place after a fantastic performance and by a unanimous vote…McKinley High's New Directions!'

The words echoed around the auditorium, the sound of applause rising up as the members of New Directions broke out into their own chorus of celebration. Santana was vaguely aware of someone pulling her to her feet and dragging her back to the stage. As the group took their trophy Santana was pulled from her shock as Brittney wrapped her in an enormous hug, closely follow by Quinn. Trying to ignore the pain that shot through her Santana smiled and discreetly detangled herself from the blondes.

As the group jumped and cheered, Santana found herself face to face with Rachel who had seemingly appeared from nowhere to be miraculously at her side.

'We did it' Santana smiled, hoping the other girl wasn't too mad at her to enjoy the moment.

'We did' Rachel nodded with a smile 'Was there ever any doubt?'

Shaking her head the cheerio grinned, but her eyes were drawn away from the glowing girl in front of her as she heard the angry jeers coming her way from the Jackson High School. She had hoped they would have the decency to be civil, at least while they were on stage in front of hundreds of people but apparently decency was asking too much from those jerks. At least some of the other members of their choir looked ashamed; some were even trying to calm the situation.

'Ignore them' Rachel stated as she saw the grin disappearing form the Latina 'They aren't worth it'

Rachel sighed as she placed a hand on Santana's stomach, it was meant to be a comforting gesture but the cheerleader couldn't help but grimacing in response as the singer caught a particularly sensitive spot.

'Santana, what's wrong?' Rachel asked, 'And don't say nothing…I thought, I thought earlier you were embarrassed or you didn't go for PDA but-'

'It's nothing really' Santana sighed, she wanted to remain as casual as possible but the stern look on the other girls face wasn't making this easy 'I had a run-in with one of those Neanderthals, okay? Things got a little out of hand-'

'Did he hurt you?' Rachel barked, the quiet intensity in her voice and anger on her face instantly worrying the Latina.

'It's nothing Rach, it's over now-'

Rachel moved suddenly her eyes locking on their intended target with swift determination as she made to stride across the stage. She had only made it a few steps before Santana grabbed her arm. Struggling to loosen the tight grip the diva spun round 'I'm not letting them get away with this, no-one lays a hand on you. Ever'

Santana soften at the protective nature of the singer, relaxing her grip slightly she smiled 'I appreciate what you're doing but I don't want you to get hurt and storming over there and doing whatever it is you're thinking of doing is not going to end well for anyone'

Rachel sighed, her eyes flicking between the girl in front of her and the jerk jeering across the stage, her voice was small when she spoke again 'You can't let them get away with it Santana, he hit you'

Santana exhaled slowly, trying to control her anger as she remembered how it felt to be trapped with him 'I know that but-'

'What did you say?'

Santana's head snapped away from Rachel as she became aware of a presence behind her. She didn't have time to say anything but could only watch as Puck and Quinn quickly pushed their way through the mass of bodies and towards the other school.

'Oh jesus' the Latina managed to mutter as she snapped into action, bounding after her friends.

It was Puck who reached the guys first; squaring up to the blonde he shouted 'What the hell is your problem?'

For his part the blonde guy looked pretty intimidated as he stood a quick step back trying his hardest to look calm 'I don't know what you're talking about'

'You like hitting girls?' Quinn piped up, crossing her arms across her chest as she glared.

Santana grimaced as the words echoed around the stage, all to aware that the crowd in the auditorium had hushed, everyone now watching with interest as various teachers and officials rushed to separate the two schools. Mr Shue arrived quickly putting himself between Puck and the other boy he gently moved the mohawked boy away.

'Dude you never hit a girl' Puck shouted as he allowed the teacher to intervene.

Although the crowd had gone quiet Santana was aware of other voices speaking out around her, and not just those of her friends. Casting a glance to her left she noticed a girl she didn't recognise gesturing to Jackson High, along with a group of other students. It took Santana a while to realise it was the Liberty High glee club. As her eyes travelled across the first few rows of the audience she noticed other students from other schools were now standing and shouting towards the stage.

'Okay, okay…' the organiser from earlier chanted into his microphone, trying to regain some control 'If everyone could please quieten down'

His words did little to ease the situation, and it was only the efforts of the entire teaching body that finally managed to restore some semblance of peace.

The organiser turning to face the three schools on the stage 'Now I'm not sure what's going on here-'

'Do you really need someone to fill in the blanks for you?' Santana muttered, hating the feeling of all eyes on her.

'Shut up!' one of the Jackson High students sneered.

Santana clenched her jaw as she heard a mass of voices rise up in her defence, the sound of Rachel's voice mixing with Quinn's and the rest of the New Directions invading her ears.

'Stop!' Santana said suddenly, silencing the others who looked at her in confusion. Turing to face the organiser the cheerleader took a calming breath 'You wanna know what's going on here? Fine'

All eyes fell on the Latina and taking a calming breath Santana glanced across to the other students shaking her head in disgust 'These jerks have spent the better part of this weekend making my life hell; laughing at me, calling me names, threatening me…That guy, right there' Santana ranted angrily, pointing directly at the blonde boy 'He seems to think it's okay to hit me, and why? What was it you called me again?'

The rhetorical question hung in the air as the Jackson High students froze 'Because I'm, and I think I'm remembering your words right here a 'filth, Mexican bitch'

Santana heard the gasps coming from the organisers but ploughed ahead, the anger she had been trying to contain finally boiling over as she added sarcastically 'But don't worry at least when we told there teacher here about it, he had the decency to accuse me of playing the race card and generally being a deceitful little something or other. So we can all be comforted by the face that bigotry is still alive and well'

'Now wait a second young lady' Mr Barton shouted as he stepped forward ready to defend his actions 'You can't go around making allegations with no evidence-'

'They aren't allegations' Mr Shue butted in, taking his place next to Santana 'They're facts'

'This is unbelievable' the other director carried on, turning to face the organisers 'I won't stand here while these cretins lie about-'

'But they aren't lying' a new voice cried out.

Turing to her left Santana saw one of the girls from Liberty High step forward to join the argument 'You can ask any one of the schools here about what happened in the lobby the other day and they will all have someone who can tell you that they saw this so called teacher acted completely inappropriately. And add to that the fact that I saw one of his students physically assault this girl here and I think it's fair to say there's a pretty big case against them'

Mr Barton spluttered as he felt the angry stares of the all the other schools on him.

'Do you have anything to say for yourself?' the organiser asked with a stern gaze.

Mr Barton shook his head, glancing back to his students who by now were all staring solemnly at the ground.

'Then you make my decision very simple' the man announced 'Jackson High are hereby disqualified from this competition on the grounds of improper conduct. Therefore I award Liberty High second place, and Bellevue High take third place'

The schools burst into loud applause as the students from Jackson High were ushered from the stage. As Mr Barton made to leave he was stopped once more 'As for you, I would strongly advise you to prepare for a formal investigation as the school board will be immediately informed of your behaviour this weekend'

Stunned the older man nodded as he quickly stumbled away from the stage and the glares being thrown his way. Santana watched as he pushed past the rest of his students in his haste to disappear into the crowd.

'You okay?'

The sound of Rachel's voice broke Santana's focus and she turned to face the smaller girl 'Yeah I am there's just one thing though…'

'What?'

'Can we please get out of here? I might act like I love being of the centre of attention, but this is too much even for me'

Rachel laughed as she reached out to grasp the cheerleader's hand 'You're wish is my command'

And with that she gently tugged the other girl after her as she made her way off-stage, exiting through one the side doors the two girls left the auditorium behind.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N – Hey guys, this is just a short chapter to finish with, there will probably be a bit of break between this and the next section of the story back at McKinley so I can get a good amount written and planned out.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Fourteen**

Santana folded the last of her clothes and placed them into her bag with the rest of her belongings, stretching slightly as she glanced around the room the cheerleader smiled. It was hard to believe that so much had happened in such a short space of time, she had arrived at the very room she was standing in only days before but it felt like a lifetime. So much had changed for her that it was almost impossible to believe.

Santana sighed as she felt arms encircle her waist, and leaning back slightly the Latina relaxed against the warm body that was now pressed firmly up against her.

'You okay?' Rachel whispered, almost as though she was worried about breaking the calm that had descended over the room in the last few minutes.

'I'm okay' the cheerio replied with a smile as she realised the truth behind her words 'I'm more than okay actually'

Turning to face the smaller girl Santana placed a gentle kiss on the singers' forehead; pulling back she let her eyes roam across the beautiful face in front of her. It seemed surreal to be stood were she was, wrapped up in the comforting embrace of Rachel Berry, a girl she had spent more than a few years tormenting because she couldn't face the truth. But now here there were.

Even with all the crap she had gone through with Jackson High it had been worth it to come out on the other side stronger, and with Rachel by her side but going back to school, the place where her reputation afforded her status and benefits other students didn't have Santana wasn't sure how she was going to deal with it all. Santana let out another small sigh, she had gotten used to the protective bubble she and Rachel had set up here and going back to McKinley was looking more and more daunting the closer the time came to leaving the hotel, sure she was okay now but what about in a couple of days, what would happen then?

'You're worried about what happens next aren't you?' Rachel asked.

'It's kind of creepy that you can already read my mind' the cheerleader chuckled, trying to diffuse the situation. They hadn't really spoken about what would happen back on home turf, mostly because Santana didn't know what the hell she was going to do, but apparently now was as good a time as any.

Santana wished she knew what to say, she wanted to have all the answers and to be the strong one who could reassure her girlfriend that everything would be okay but she wasn't sure it would be. She didn't know if she could deal with the other students, the looks and the name calling she had done it most of her life already and had finally gotten to a stage where everyone was too afraid of her to even think about saying anything derogatory to her, but that didn't mean she could go changing the rules. Being gay, being with Rachel, was like sticking another target on her back and she had spent a good few years trying to cover one of those already. Was she really ready to face coming out to everyone?

If she was honest with herself though, it wasn't really the rest of the student body she was the most worried about. She was a badass, with a badass reputation and a whole heap of people ready to back her up, and she hoped she could take it if the rest of the school thought they could use her relationship with Rachel against her she had enough practice putting people in their place to know she was strong enough to deal with anyone who thought they could insult her. Besides Rachel was more than worth any damage that would be done to her reputation, after all the other girl had stood by her this weekend, had been ready to face down a pack of ignorant jerks for her sake and had more than proved that she was a match for Santana's fierce determination. Potentially going back to the bottom of the social pyramid frightened the cheerleader but it wasn't the end of the world, Santana had her sights set further than High School and it would only be a couple of years before she could forget all about people like Karofsky.

But to get out of High School, to move on from Lima and all the losers at McKinley who were bound to make her life hell again Santana needed the cheerios and as much as she hated to admit it that meant she needed Sue Sylvester, or at least to stay in the coaches good books. Somehow Santana didn't think she'd be seeing much of any football field in the schools red and white colours if Coach found out she was not only dating a girl, but Rachel the leader of Sue's nemesis club.

'It'll be okay you know' Rachel said, raising a hand to caressing the taller girls cheek 'We can keep this quiet, we don't have to tell everyone. As long as the people who matter to us know then we can be happy…to hell with everyone else'

'Did you just curse?'

Rachel nodded curtly, a small blush creeping up her neck 'Sometimes it is legitimate to use strong language'

Santana resisted the urge to inform Rachel that her curse was far from strong language instead the cheerleader pulled the other girl into a close hug 'I don't want to lie though Rach, we shouldn't have to pretend. It's not fair. I'm not ashamed-'

'I know that' the singer replied gently 'Believe me I do, and I also know that if there was a way we could be together without Coach Sylvester completely freaking out then we would. But cheerios is important to you, it just means that we have to be careful not to arouse any suspicion'

'This sucks' Santana pouted, earning a quick kiss.

Rachel nodded, a hesitant look crossing her delicate features as she looked up at Santana, she make to speak but seemed to reconsider as she snapped her mouth shut.

'What?'

'Nothing I…' the singer trailed off, her eyes drifting to the floor 'I want to you to know that, if you change your mind, if you reconsider us then I completely understand. I mean, I'm already the lowest of the low at school and being with me is only going to drag you down, more so than if you were with…Brittany or Quinn so if you want out then all you have to do is say and we can pretend this never happened-'

Santana sprang into action quicker than she ever had, her lips pressing soundly against the other girls as she stemmed the rant, 'Don't be so ridiculous, I don't want out of this okay? I might not know what the hell is going to happen, but whatever it is I know I want you with me okay? Even if it involves sneaking around and…stretching the truth'

'Okay' Rachel replied breathlessly, her arms wrapping around the cheerleaders waist.

Breaking apart the two girls grinned, they both knew that going back to McKinley was going to be difficult but as they grabbed their belongings and made their way down to meet the rest of the group they knew they were strong enough to make it.

As they approached the bus Santana grasped Rachel's hand, enjoying the last few moments that could have together as an official couple. She hated the idea of pretending to be someone else when they got back to McKinley but she was also glad to have glee as a safe-haven and that she could still be with Rachel outside of the confines of school and the cheerios.

The group began to take their places on the bus as Mr Shue ushered them on. On the way there Santana had sat with Brittney at the back of the bus, fending off Puck's dirty comments and ignoring the way Quinn seemed to be pining after him. She had barely looked in anyone else's direction, but now after everything that had happened the group seemed to have relaxed and come together. Before Santana knew she was isolating herself, and it hurt to know everyone else got on and she was the one that was out of place because she refused to be as open as the others. She may not have reached the stage where she was happy to let everyone in but she was at least trying to change.

Sliding into one of the seats she waited for Rachel to finishing debating something with Mr Shue, when the smaller girl was finished she wandered over and sat next to the cheerleader with a smile.

'Come here' Santana said, reaching out she wrapped an arm around the singer's shoulder and pull her close so she was snuggled comfortably against the cheerleaders chest.

'You know, this could be considered a romantic gesture, I wouldn't want people to think being with me has made you go soft'

The hum of the engine started and as they pulled away from the parking lot Santana smiled 'Let them think what they want'

**A/N – As always reviews are love! A massive thanks to everyone for reviews/alerts, you guys are awesome!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N – I'm back! Sorry for the longer than expected delay but I had a few issues working out where I want to take this story…I'm still debating good versus evil Finn, although both are fun to write I can't decide. **

**Anyways a quick chapter before lots of angsty goodness!**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Santana couldn't stop the huge grin that spread across her face as she left her final class of the day and headed to the choir room. It was the first day back at school after the competition and the cheerleader had spent most of her day making up excuses for work she was supposed to have done over the weekend and talking her way out of detentions, if she hadn't had so much practice at it she would have been spending her evening in the presence of an overbearing math teacher instead of her girlfriend. Luckily Santana was pretty awesome at talking her way out of things, so it didn't take much to convince Mr Peters that she had merely been replying to an urgent message from her mother rather than texting Rachel.

As Santana entered the choir room she was disappointed not to see the diva. She had barely spoken to her girlfriend since the morning, only managing to sneak in a well-planned secret meeting in the bathroom during a particularly dull chemistry class, and she had been hoping to spend a little more time with Rachel before glee. Sighing the cheerleader strode over to her usual seat and sat down.

'You're a little more enthusiastic than usual' Quinn said as she entered the room with a smile 'I don't think you've ever been early for glee…or anything other than cheerio's come to think of it'

Santana rolled her eyes as the blonde sat next to her but remained quiet her eyes fixed on the door.

Quinn noticed and let out a chuckle as she took a seat next to the other cheerleader 'You've got it bad'

'I do not' Santana retorted finally taking her eyes of the door to glare at the blonde next to her who looked unconvinced 'I don't! I just haven't seen her much today; it's not like we can parade around school hand-in-hand or even talk to each other. The most we get is a passing insult or carefully planned and entirely to short hide-out when we're supposed to be in classes'

Quinn softened 'Sorry, I was…I know it's hard trying to hide something so big from everyone, but it'll get better'

Santana nodded half-heartedly, not entirely convinced. It had been a mutual decision to keep their relationship quiet from the general student population but after only one day Santana already hated not being able to see her girlfriend. Every time she passed another couple in the hall she was reminded of how unfair their situation was and couldn't control the anger she felt at having to pretend to be someone she wasn't. She had finally found someone she could be herself with but at the same time they didn't have the freedom to actually be together.

Every minute of the day Santana have been debating whether it was worth staying quiet if it hurt this much, although the other part of her couldn't stop imagine what would happened if people did find out and then of course there was the other thing that had been playing on her mind all day.

'Can I ask you something?'

The uncharacteristically nervous question took Quinn by surprise 'Sure'

'Before, when Mercedes said everyone knew that I was…'

'Gay?'

'Yeah, is that true? Did everyone really work it out?' Santana finished her voice quiet as she stared uncomfortably at the floor, wishing desperately that she didn't sound so vulnerable.

Quinn shifted in her seat, she wasn't used to seeing her friend so uneasy and it was disconcerting to see the Latina acting nervous 'It was Kurt who brought it up first, but it was pretty obvious'

'How long did it take you to figure out?'

'Santana' Quinn sighed as she reached out to grab the other girl's hand, hoping she would at least look up 'I've been your friend for a long time, there were always signs but mostly I didn't really think about it too much. I knew about…about you and Brittany, I saw the way you look at Rachel, it doesn't take a genius to put it all together'

Santana nodded, but remained silent.

'What's this all about?'

'I…I thought if I knew what it was you all saw, I could…I don't know, hide it?' the Latina replied, clasping the blonde's hand tighter as she swallowed back her tears.

'Hide it?' Quinn asked, 'Why would you-'

'If you guys all worked it out, what's to stop everyone else doing the same thing? I can't risk Sue or the rest of the cheerio's-' Santana trailed off shaking her head as she realised how pathetic she sounded.

'Okay, first of all you need to stop' Quinn stated adamantly, reaching out to lift Santana's chin the blonde locked their eyes 'The cheerio's, the jocks, Sue…everyone other student in this school doesn't see you the way I see you, the way we see you. You put up all these walls and act like you're an ice queen but here in this room everyone sees exactly who you are whether you like it or not. We see you every day; a year ago no-one in this club would have any clue who you are they just saw the head bitch act you've got going on but not anymore. You can fool everyone else but not us. And whilst I hate the idea that you have to hide any part of yourself, I understand why you're afraid but don't hide from yourself okay?'

Santana blinked in shock as she turned to face the blonde who grinned 'I may have been planning that speech for some time'

'You are all kinds of awesome Quinn' the Latina replied as she tried to recover from her astonishment.

'I know' Quinn joked, her expression turning serious as she looked at the girl in front of her shifting awkwardly 'What's wrong?'

Santana sighed loudly as she looked at the blonde and before Quinn could comprehend it the Latina had pulled her into a tight hug, once the initial shock had worn off the blonde wrapped her arms around her fellow cheerleader. The two girls stayed locked together for a while until Santana let go suddenly and pulled back 'This in no way means I've gone soft'

'Not at all' Quinn replied solemnly, a smirk breaking through her stern front 'Well, maybe a little bit but I won't tell anyone'

'You better not' Santana glared playfully as she let herself relax.

The sound of voices approaching snapped the two girls from their conversation and they turned to the door in time to see the rest of the glee club filter in. Santana managed to offer the others a smile but her focus rested solely on the petite brunette currently engaged in a pretty one-sided conversation with Mr Shue.

'All I'm saying is that Nationals demands a higher-level of-'

Santana could tell that the teacher wasn't really listening to his student as he dumped his bag by the piano and began organising the day's sheet music, feeling more giving than usual the Latina sprung from her seat and joined the two.

'Hey Rach'

The look of relief on Mr Shue's face almost rivalled the look of happiness on Rachel's as she beamed at the other girl her previous conversation completely forgotten as she allowed the cheerleader to gently drag her away from the piano.

'Hey yourself' the signer smiled as she wrapped her arms around the taller girl 'I missed you today'

Santana thought about a trademark sarcastic reply but simply shrugged sheepishly 'I missed you too'

'Get a room' Puck added cheerfully as he swung past them to take his seat.

Rachel glared at the boy but Santana smiled sweetly 'Actually we have a room, two in fact so if that's your way of saying you don't need us today then we'll be going'

'I don't think that's what he meant' Mr Shue interjected, gesturing for everyone to take their seats as he began one of his long introductions.

Taking her seat next to Rachel Santana smiled as she wrapped an arm around her girlfriend who whispered 'As much as I enjoy the thought of spending another afternoon alone with you, you should know that I take glee very seriously and I would never jeopardise a rehearsal even if-'

Chuckling Santana leant over a place a quick kiss on the other girl's forehead 'I know, believe me I know'


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N – Thanks for all the reviews guys, I've been a little slower updating recently as I seem to have less time to write now that it's getting closer to xmas and I'm crazy busy with with work so I decided to dive right into the drama and pick up the pace… **

**Chapter Sixteen**

The weekend had past far too quickly for Santana's liking and the cheerleader found herself letting out an angry groan as she dragged herself out of her car and towards school. She already missed spending the day wrapped up on Rachel's couch watching old movies, well watching parts of old movies between heated make-out sessions anyway. Smiling at the very clear memories in her head and Santana made a note to encourage Rachel's dads to go on long weekend business trips more often.

It had been strange at first, spending time at the Berry's, firstly because she was sure that the two men knew she was the girl who had made their daughters life miserable and secondly because they hadn't exactly told their parents about their new relationship. Santana knew that Rachel was simply waiting for a good time, her Dad's had been stressing about work recently and Rachel didn't really want to equate her news with their bad week. But Santana was still uncertain about how her own parents would react.

Shaking her head to clear the thoughts she did not want to face on a Monday morning Santana pushed through the doors of McKinley and began the walk to her locker. As she made her way down the hallway the cheerleader began increasingly aware of a number of students staring at her, it wasn't unheard of after all she was a well-known face in the halls of McKinley but something about the way they were all looking at her didn't feel like normal. Frowning the Latina realised that the look of fear she normally received had been replaced by smirks and, she was pretty sure a few were pointing. She could even have imagined some laughter.

'What the hell is going on?' the Latina muttered as she quickly opened her locker and began sorting through her books.

'Hey S'

Brittany's normally cheerful voice cut through the strangely quiet hallways as Santana looked at her friend. Instead of the happy-go-lucky smile that she expected the brunette was more than a little worried to see the blonde frowning.

'Hey yourself, you okay B? You look a little…'

'What's a dyke?' the blonde asked, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully 'I remember Mrs Drake saying it was like a dam but that doesn't make sense because Karofsky said-'

Santana felt her heart thudding in her chest as a horrible feeling of realisation swept over her.

'That you were a dyke, but you're not a dam' Brittany continued unaware of the look of horror on her friends face 'Are you?'

Santana shook her head, hoping she had misheard the blonde or the blonde had made one of her usual mistakes 'When did he say…that?'

'This morning, I was at my locker trying to remember the combination and he came up to me with some of the other football guys and said I should be careful spending so much time around you because you're a-'

'He said what?' Santana raged, slamming her locker shut as she cut Brittany off unable to standing hearing her say the word again 'That asshole, who the hell does he think he is?'

Spinning on her heel's the brunette quickly sought out the jock among the sea of students milling in the hallway. It didn't take long to locate him and before she could really think it through the cheerio was marching over to him. She was glad to be back on home-ground, here she had no problem telling jerk-offs like Dave Karofsky exactly what she thought 'Hey Karofsky!'

The jock turned and gave Santana a look of disgust as he eyed her up and down 'Lopez'

Santana glared as she squared up to the jock, 'Brittany told me what you said to her, you better stop running your mouth off about me unless you want to spend the rest of the year drinking your meals through a straw'

Normally the cheerleader's angry rant would have turned the guy in front of her running in the opposite direction but today he stood smirking at her. Trying not to show how worried she was she ploughed ahead 'If you think you can get away with talking crap about me behind my back then you've got another thing coming-'

'Save the speech Lopez' he sneered, taking a step forward he towered over her 'You might have been top dog around here before but now, no-one's going to listen to some queer who thinks she's better than everyone else'

'Don't you dare call me-'

'Are you gonna try and deny it?' Karofsky barked, shoving the Latina's shoulders causing her to stumble back.

'Whatever stupid gossip you've been listening to, or making up-'

'You don't get it do you?' the jock interrupted with a sinister laugh 'It's not just me, everyone's talking about it, you're little secrets out'

Santana tried to remain calm and poised, she didn't want the guy to think he was right or that his words had any impact on her. Keeping her well-rehearsed bitch-face in check the cheerleader glanced around her. It was true, everyone was looking at her. Her mind whirled into action as she tried to work out how she had been caught. She had been so careful, and it had only been a little over a week since her and Rachel had got together and she knew they had successfully kept everything under wraps from the school. The only people who knew about her were the rest of the glee club, which meant that it was one of them who had talked. One of the people she had wanted to think of as friends, and to trust, had betrayed her.

'Lost for words huh?' the jock gloated.

'You can believe what you want, but it's not true' Santana bit back crossing her arms defensively.

'Really? Because it's all over the blogs'

'What?' The cheerio's eyes widened as she tried to process what she was hearing, thinking quickly she clenched her jaw in anger as she pieced together everything that was happened.

'Jew-fro posted a whole heap of stuff on his site, and he says has the pictures to prove it'

'Bullshit' Santana retorted with false-bravado, inside she was panicking more than she thought possible, if he knew about her did he know about Rachel? Did the person who sold her out give Rachel away as well? A million thoughts flew through Santana's brain faster than she could comprehend.

Grinning Karofsky reached for his iPhone and after fiddling with it for a few seconds he handed it to Santana. Trying not to shake as she took it, her breath caught in her chest as she scrolled through the blog in front of her.

'Shit' Santana whispered as she felt her heart plummet. It was her alright, or more precisely a bunch of articles sweeping gossip about her and her sexuality, among other things. But it was the last one that hit the hardest. It was about her and another female student rumoured to be using the cheerio locker room as some kind of sex-den. Coach Sylvester was going to kill her.

'So, who's the chick?' Karofsky demanded as he snatched his phone back.

Santana shook her head as she looked up 'What…I don't-'

It occurred to Santana then that although she and the rest of glee knew her and Rachel were a couple none of stories mentioned the tiny diva's identity, almost as if whoever was supplying Jew-Fro with his information was targeting her. The cheerleader relaxed a little at that, comforted by the fact that Rachel was safe.

'This doesn't prove anything' Santana stated gritting her teeth as she shoved the jock's phone back to him 'Anyone can make up a bunch of crap and post it on the internet, it doesn't make it true'

Karofsky glared at her before pushing past, roughly shoving the Latina into the lockers he growled 'But everyone believes it, so even if it is a lie which I doubt…it's a good as true now. Besides Jew-Fro says he has proof, photographic proof. So you better watch you're back Lopez this isn't going to blow over'

With that the jock pushed his way past the Latina, high-fiving one of his teammates as they sauntered down the hallway and away from Santana he turned back and shouted 'No-one likes a Queerio!'

Leaning against the cool metal Santana felt her heart racing in her chest as she stared at the floor. She tried to ignore the feeling of the other students watching her but it was too much, their whispers reverberated around the hall as the cheerleader tried to control her emotions.

'Santana?'

Brittany's voice was so quiet it was almost lost among the sea of voices swirling around her ears but looking up Santana was met with her friend's sad eyes gazing at her in confusion.

'Are you okay?'

The Latina wanted to scream, she wanted to cry and sob and tell Brittany the truth. She wasn't okay, she wasn't going to be okay for a long time because the secret that she had tried so hard to hide from herself, and from others, was out. The whole school knew she was gay and Santana wasn't sure she knew how to deal with it or if she even could. She had gone from the top to the bottom in a day and she didn't even know who was responsible for it.

'I'm okay B' Santana lied, forcing a smile. She might have just had her world ripped apart but there was no way she could ever weigh her best friend down with it, besides she probably wouldn't understand anyway, not completely. In Brittany's world things like this didn't happen and Santana wasn't about to be the one to break it to her.

'Are you coming to class?' the blonde asked her tone hesitant as though she didn't fully believe the lie her friend was offering.

Santana shook her head 'Not right now, in a minute okay? You go on without me I'll catch up to you'

Brittany nodded and although she looked as though she wanted to argue she simply frowned and headed off to class. The bell sounded soon after and the rest of the students scurried about gathering their things and rushing to their own lessons.

Santana simply stood where she was, her feet rooted to the spot. If she moved now reality would hit full force and she would have to deal with what was now her life. Her fist clenching in anger at her sides, it wasn't fair that someone had taken this from her. Her security, her safety and her right to come out on her own terms. She might not have been ready to announce it herself yet but she wanted to be the one who decided when and how it happened and not in her worst nightmares would it have happened like this.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N – Thanks again for all the reviews guys! A little angst now but lots of PezBerry to follow…**

**Chapter Seventeen**

Santana felt her phone vibrate in her pocket for what felt like the hundredth time and wondered again why she didn't just switch the damn thing off, it wasn't like she was going to check her messages again, not after the first few times when every message contained at least one insult and one threat of violence. She briefly wondered if any of the glee club would care enough to text her, but quickly dismissed it when she remembered it was one of them who had sold her out and that it wasn't much of a stretch to figure that the rest of them had probably been in on it too. In fact she had been sitting in the cheerio's locker room analysing everything for so long that she was starting to wonder if Rachel had been in on it too, after all it made perfect sense, what better way to seek revenge on a cheerleader who had made her life hell?

Hiding in the locker room had been seemed like a good idea at first, after all it was empty all day and no-one would think to look for her here. But sitting alone for most of the day was starting to make the Latina more and more paranoid as she imagined the rest of the club plotting her downfall. The reasonable part of her argued that Rachel would never be so cruel and that what they had was real, but having your private life spread around the school didn't lend itself to reason and the more Santana thought about it the more terrified she became that her paranoid thoughts would turn out to be right. Her chest ached as she imagined walking into the choir room only to have everyone turn and laugh at her and tell her she deserved it. She didn't care so much about the others, as much as she wanted to have them as friends she knew that if Rachel laughed then it would truly break her.

Looking at the clock the cheerio watched time flick by and move closer to the end of school and the beginning of glee rehearsal, as the bell rang to signal the end of lessons she could barely believe that she had spent the whole day hiding. It wasn't like her to shy away from confrontation, but the idea that everyone had turned against her apart from Brittney seemed all too real and she wasn't ready to face the rest of the school.

Giving herself a moment to collect her thoughts, and for enough of the students to leave, Santana hauled herself up from the corner she had been sitting in and stretched before grabbing her bag. She needed answers, and she was going to get them.

Pushing through the door and into the hallway Santana was glad to see that the school was now mostly empty, the few people still milling around moved out of her way quickly as they picked up on the waves of anger flowing off the cheerios. Rumours may be a powerful thing at McKinley but an angry Santana Lopez could be just as powerful. Rounding the corner and setting her sights on the choir room door Santana hesitated, she had debated heading straight to Jew-Fro and trying to beat the information out of him, and whilst that was still an option, she wanted to head straight to potential source first, beside if Jew-Fro had any sense of self-preservation he would have disappeared off the radar a long time ago. If someone at glee had been spreading gossip about her then Santana wanted to hear it from them.

Taking a deep breath Santana paused listening to the noise from inside, she couldn't really make out the words but she could hear enough to know that everyone was present. It took Santana a moment to steel her nerves and pushing through the doors it almost failed her as she felt all eyes in the room land on her. Everyone was silent for a moment, before a wave of noise erupted. An array of voices simultaneously shouted and shrieked her name but the only thing Santana could focus on was Rachel. The singer looked like a wreck, her eyes red from crying and her face etched with signs of worry. As the diva sprung from her chair and enveloped the taller girl in a tight hug Santana immediately felt guiltily for ever entertaining the thought that her girlfriend would betray her.

'Where the hell have you been?' Rachel whispered through her tears as she finally released the cheerleader from her hold.

A second wave of guilt washed over Santana as she realised she had been so focused on hiding she didn't think anyone would be worried for her 'I'm sorry Rachel, I didn't mean to scare you I…I needed to-'

Rachel nodded, quickly cutting off the rest of Santana's sentence with a kiss.

'You scared the hell out of us Santana' Quinn stated, breaking the moment 'We've been looking everywhere for you'

'Sorry' the cheerleader mumbled, neglecting to tell her friend that she had been extremely close to discovering her on her search of the cheerio's locker room 'I haven't had the best day today'

Quinn sighed as she sunk back into her seat with a frown 'I know we…we heard about what happened. How did Jew-Fro have any idea what's going on?'

Santana felt her anger return as she gently released Rachel and turned to face the room 'That's what I'd like to know because the only people who know anything about me are standing in this room'

Santana's statement hung in the air effectively silencing the rest of the club who looked shocked.

'Are you saying that one of us did this?' Quinn asked in disbelief as she glanced around the room.

The Latina nodded grimly, she had wanted to scream and shout but somehow the anger she had felt before was outweighed but the sense of hurt she felt staring at the faces of people she thought could be her friends, the fact that any one of them could have betrayed her was more painful than she could admit 'Look I get that no-one here really likes me and that I've been more than bitch to all of you but this is low and you know it. So whichever one of you has been talking about me should at least have the balls to admit it'

'Now come on' Mr Shue said, making his presence known as he held up his hands and attempted to calm the situation 'I'm sure no-one here would ever-'

A quiet voice crept up, silencing the teacher 'I didn't mean to do it, I swear'

All eyes in the room snapped to the corner of the room where the culprit sat staring guiltily at the floor unable to meet anyone's gaze. Santana swallowed hard as she took a step forward only to find herself abruptly stopped by most of her friends, although everyone looked equally confused as to whether they were stopping Santana committing a horrible crime or protecting Finn from getting his face busted.

'I'm not going to hurt him' the Latina argued as she gritted her teeth 'Not in a fatal way'

No-one seemed to buy her lie though and the cheerleader was forced to relent even though all she wanted was to run across the room and tear the football player limb-from-limb. But it was Rachel who spoke next, her normally strong and confident voice sounded shattered as she whispered 'Why would you do this Finn?'

'I…I didn't mean to I swear' the boy stammered as he stood and took a step towards the group 'I was angry and I said some stupid things…'

'So you took it out on me? You told Jew-Fro to write all those things?' Santana shouted, surging against the people surrounding her. It took a lot of effort to hold her in place and Finn took a step back as he felt the waves of anger coming towards him.

'I didn't! Look, he came up to me after football practise and he kept asking questions about glee club and Rachel, he wanted to know if we were still dating or if the rumours about us breaking up were true. Then he was going on about the latest glee scandal and it all got too much'

'If you can't spit this story out a hell of a of lot quick I swear to god I'm gonna rip you're spine out and beat you with it'

'I was upset okay?' Finn shouted back angrily 'You stole my girlfriend'

The room fell awkwardly silent as everyone stared at Finn in disbelief.

'I wasn't your girlfriend to steal' Rachel barked, one arm wrapped around her girlfriends waist as she grabbled to hold the angry Latina back.

'But you were' Finn insisted, 'You think it's easy for me to see you with…with her? I can't just be okay with that'

'So this is the next best thing? You talk about me to the gossip-mill behind my back to what try and scare me away from her so you can swop in?'

'You don't deserve her!' Finn shouted, 'You tormented her for years and all of a sudden it's like nothing ever happened and you get a happy-ending? How is that fair?'

Santana swallowed hard, hearing someone else vocalising her own fear somehow made it even more legitimate and for once the cheerleader was at a loss for words.

'What happens between myself and Santana is none of your business, and even if it were it would never have given you the right to do what you've done'

'I know that' Finn sighed as he sunk back into his seat his hands clawing at his head in despair 'It slipped out, I never meant to say it but he kept pushing me about Rachel and saying he was going to write this horrible article about her and I couldn't take it, I was angry and I just said it-'

'What did you say?'

Finn looked down in shame 'I said…I said, Santana's the one you should be writing about I can't believe-'

Staring at the football player as he trailed off Santana felt her stomach turn 'Say it'

'I can't believe no-one else has noticed she's a complete…' Finns voice dropped to a whisper as he stared at the ground 'Dyke'

Santana felt her heart plummet, she knew that Finn was weird about her and Rachel and she also knew that she and him had never gotten along that well even before glee but to know he could say something like that about her to someone was like a punch to the gut. Feeling her anger drain away Santana stopped her struggle to get around the glee club that had been holding her back. As the cheerleader relented she felt everyone's eyes flicking between her and the pitiful looking Finn.

'You need to leave'

The words were quiet but stated with such intensity that it cut through the room like a knife, there was no question or room for argument simply a coldness to Rachel's voice that the others had never heard before. For his part Finn meekly collected his bag and slunk towards the exit, he didn't even spare a look back at his friends as he stepped out of the room.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N As promised a PezBerry chapter, I hope I did it justice, I found it pretty hard to get Santana's feeling across properly in this chapter but I wanted to show her (potential) twisted) thought process! **

**As always reviews are appreciated, thanks to anyone who has reviewed/favourite/alereted **

**Chapter Eighteen**

It struck Santana as strange that she and Rachel had lived less than five minutes' walk away from each other for most of their lives and never even realised it, she could all but see the diva's house from her own but had no memory of the two ever having crossed paths. She wondered if that was intentional on the diva's part, after all a lot of people tended to try and stay out of the cheerleaders way if they could.

As the cheerleader approached the diva's home she glanced around to make sure no-one was watching her. She was more than aware of Karofsky's threat that Jew-Fro had, or was on the hunt, for photographic proof to go with the rumours.

'Will you stop being so paranoid and hurry up please?' Rachel asked impatiently as she unlocked the front door and stepped inside.

Grumbling a vague apology the Latina followed her girlfriend. As she stepped into the house she smiled, the Berry household always seemed warm and welcoming and although Santana had only been there a handful of times she loved the homely vibe she got when she walked through the front door. Her own home was more of a show-house than anything else, sterile and un-lived in, and Santana welcomed the change of scenery.

'Do you want a drink?'

Santana nodded and followed the diva through to the kitchen, she could tell that Rachel was uncomfortable, as she leant against the doorframe and watched the smaller girl busy herself preparing drinks the cheerleader sighed. Everything had been going so well she should have figured something would mess it up, things had a habit of going wrong around her and it was stupid to think they could stay locked away in their own private bubble for long.

'There isn't much in, I have erm…water, juice, coke…there's milk, coffee…I could make smoothies or-'

Pushing herself upright Santana covered the distance between them in a few short steps and wrapped her arms around Rachel's small frame drawing her into a hug 'It's going to be okay Rach'

'Shouldn't I be the one telling you that?' came the muffled response as the smaller girl sighed dejectedly.

'Maybe' the cheerio nodded with a chuckle 'But I think it's fair to say we're far from conventional when it comes to anything'

Rachel laughed and pulled away slightly as she reached up to cup the other girls cheek, leaning forward she placed a delicate kiss on her nose.

Normally Santana would have rolled her eyes at the cuteness but today she needed to feel the affection and love, having spent most of the day locked away from prying eyes it was good to be reminded that Rachel was there for her and to that know the singer hadn't gone running for the hills.

'Come on' Santana whispered, stealing a quick kiss before grabbing a couple of cans of coke off the counter 'A little mindless tv will help us forget about today'

'Santana…'

The cheerleader could hear the warning tone in her girlfriends voice, she really didn't want to have to get into a lengthy discussion about Finn and everything else right now so thinking quickly she added 'We can watch anything you want'

'We can watch the new-extended version of Chicago my Dads brought?' Rachel squealed, clapping her hands together in delight.

Before Santana could answer the small girl was already loading the disk into the player and rambling on about which song was the best and the list of reason why Renee Zellweger should never be allowed to cross over into the world of musical theatre. The cheerleader breathed a sigh of relief as she flaked onto the sofa, she felt a little guilty for distracting Rachel by exploiting her love of music but in the grand scheme of things she knew they both needed some time to process what had happened. They would have to have the talk soon but in the meantime Santana was happy to simply admire Catherine Zeta Jones for a few hours.

By the time the ending credits were rolling the two girls were comfortably laying on the sofa, their limbs entangled as Rachel snuggled into the Latina. Even though the film had lasted well over two hours Santana couldn't believe it had ended so quickly, she didn't remember actually watching any of it though. Whilst she had wanted to switch off and lose herself for a bit her mind had been too distracted to turn off.

Seeing Rachel flick the channel over the Latina struggled to think of something to say, she could almost hear her girlfriend's thought-process as she tried to think of a way to bring up the subject of Finn and the days event.

'I guess it's too much to hope we can stay like this for a little while longer, huh?' Santana whispered as she dropped a kiss on the top of Rachel's head.

The singer sighed as she nodded 'Have…Have you read the blogs?'

'Some of them' Santana admitted, her voice strained as she remembered the horrible words written about her 'Have you?'

The diva nodded slowly 'When I came into school this morning Quinn was waiting by my locker, she showed me. We tried to find you but you'd already disappeared, I saw Brittany and she said you were supposed to follow her to class and you never did. I was really worried San, I looked everywhere for you'

'I know' the Latina mumbled, 'I…I didn't mean to freak you out I swear but I had to get away from it, y'know?'

'I do, I wish I could have been there for you though' Rachel admitted as she pulled herself into an upright position to look at her girlfriend.

Santana shrugged, looking away in embarrassment she fiddled with her hands 'I was kind of a mess'

'But see that's the thing about being in a relationship, you can be a mess and I'll still be here for you. You don't have to be alone, everything is out in the open now and we can deal with it together'

Santana hesitated as she looked at the smaller girl.

'Right?'

The Latina shook her head 'The blogs are targeting me Rach, not you, it was me Finn decided to out so it's me everyone is gunning for and that's how I want to keep it'

'I don't understand, you want to be alone?'

'No' Santana stated, reaching forward to clasp the singers hand 'I want to be with you but I'm not going to let you put yourself in the firing line for me. You know how much crap Kurt gets, that's going to be me soon but it sure as hell isn't going to be you'

Rachel shifted uncomfortably 'I can't sit back and not saying anything though'

'I know it's difficult for you to stay quiet…about anything' the cheerio joked, her tone turning serious as she added 'But I…I don't want you to be involved in all this'

'But I'm already involved, I'm your girlfriend' Rachel stated simply, hurt written clearly on her features.

'But I don't want people to know that!' the cheerleader shouted, immediately regretting her blunt words as she saw Rachel flinch 'Wait, I didn't mean it like that-'

Rachel shook her head as she gazed across the room 'So you are ashamed of me?'

Santana couldn't believe how horribly wrong this conversation was going; raking a hand through her hair she felt the guilt building inside of her 'No! I...I just I can't…'

'What?' Rachel demanded, 'It's okay for everyone to know you're gay but not that you're with me? You can't be with me in public, you can't risk your reputation, you can't-'

'I can't be the reason you get bullied again okay?' Santana shouted as she flung herself up of the couch and stormed over to the window unable to face her girlfriend as tears began to run down her face.

'What?'

'I'm the reason you've spent most of high school getting slushied and made fun off, I won't do that to you again. If Karofsky and the other jocks and cheerios want to take their ignorance out on me then fine, I can take it but I won't put you in the middle of it. I can't go back and make up for what I did to you before but I can do something about this'

Rachel was silent as she contemplated the brunettes' words. Slowly rising from the sofa she approached her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her waist to pull their bodies together.

'Finn was right about one thing Rach, I don't deserve you and if I let you open yourself up to all this crap at school then it proves it. I want to be the one to protect you from all this, not the one to put you through it'

'And what about me?' the diva whispered 'How do I protect you?'

Santana sighed as she twisted around to face Rachel 'I don't think you can, the whole school knows and there's not much I can do to take it back'

'Well I can't sit back and watch you suffer' the smaller girl argued 'I know you think this is the right thing, being a martyr and making amends but it doesn't work like that. If we tell people we're together then-'

Santana frowned, not knowing what to say she leant in and placed a chaste kiss on her girlfriend's forehead to cut off her argument 'But then they'll come after you. Can you please just trust me? This is the best thing for both of us. I can deal with it everything at school as long as you're safe, and besides I'm sure it'll die down soon, there's always new gossip and scandals'

'You're attempts to console me aren't particularly believable' the singer sighed 'And although I already know the answer I have to ask, is there any way you'll change your mind about this?'

Santana shook her head solemnly.

'But I don't care about what happens to me, I'm already at the bottom of the social ladder it can't be much worse if people know about our relationship' Rachel argued

'Well it's not a risk I'm willing to take' Santana replied forcefully 'We can stand here all night and argue about it but I'm telling you now, you have no chance of making me back down. So please, promise me you won't say anything'

'Okay' Rachel sighed dejectedly as she buried her head against the taller girls' shoulder her words muffled as she replied 'Finn was wrong you know, I'm the one who doesn't deserve you'

Santana chuckled as she brought a hand up to play with her girlfriends hair 'Are we really gonna spend the night debating who deserves who?'

'Shut up' Rachel whispered, before pulling back to look at her girlfriend a serious expression on her face 'Are we going to be okay?'

'We'll be fine Rach' Santana replied confidently even as the butterflies in her stomach threaten nausea 'We'll be fine'

The singer nodded 'You know I may have agreed to keep our relationship secret for the time being but-' Rachel shot Santana a warning look as she tried to argue 'But I'm still going to do everything I can to protect you, the whole glee club will after all it's my fault Finn did what he did'

'It's not your fault Rach, how could it be? Finn is responsible for his own mistakes'

'We're just left to deal with the consequences' Rachel added with a shake of her head.

Santana 'Maybe…I just hope Finnocence realises I'm not letting him off the hook easily'

'I'd expect nothing less from you' Rachel smiled as she stole a quick kiss 'But, what about the blogs? You can't let Jacob get away with writing that stuff. He's always writing about other students sometimes true sometimes not, although he doesn't seem to care either way, but even for him those entries were awful'

The cheerio frowned at this, a small smile playing at her lips 'Oh I have a plan for that little freak believe me, but I'm going to need your help…'


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N – A short little chapter, I figured Santana needed to let out a little anger…and I mixed in some PezBerry fluff too **

**Thanks for all the reviews again guys, particularly Blackrose23, Minako366 and KKaty for all the comments on each chapter, it means a lotyou guys are still following this story **

**And a special thanks to Kikky for deconstructing my Santana thoughts for the last chapter I was worried I'd confused it all but I'm glad it made sense! And don't worry there's plenty of PezBerry goodness outside (and possibly inside) of school to come.**

**Chapter Nineteen**

Santana had never described herself as a morning-person but she had to admit that she usually loved Monday mornings, even if it was probably a bit strange she couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of strolling into school at the beginning of the week and knowing she was ready to face anything that was coming her way. She revelled in the feeling of power and confidence she felt as she entered the main hallway, she might not always be as self-assured as she led others to believe but it helped a lot to be up bright and early with a sense of direction and determination. Throughout all of high school she had ruled the school, with Quinn and Brittany, she had been untouchable and being at the top of the social pyramid granted her a safety few others could boost. Santana knew school was pretty much a free-for-all, her younger days had taught her that people could be cruel and that if she wanted to survive then she needed to be at the top.

However this particular morning Santana felt none of the normal exhilaration as she scurried into the school entirely too early for her liking. She was on a mission. Well, two missions in fact; the first was to hunt down Jacob Ben-Israel and the second was to avoid Coach Sylvester at all costs because no matter how she tried to imagine it, and no matter how many times Rachel reassured her Santana knew Coach Sylvester was going to tear her apart. Pushing the gloomy thoughts from her head the Latina took a deep breath as she regained her focus.

Storming down the mostly deserted hallway the Latina wasn't sure which one of her plans seemed the most impossible but she figured the universe owed her a little luck right about now. Heading down the stairs towards one of the less used rooms in the basement of the school Santana found the room she was looking for. Jew-Fro was very well known for hiding in a variety of places around the school, after all writing paparazzi style stories about fellow students didn't exactly led to safety, but Santana had it on good authority that the little freak would be right where she wanted him. After all he could never resist a chance to meet with Rachael Berry. With a grimace Santana made a mental note to do something special to thank her girlfriend for organising this, without her Santana would probably have spent most of the day chasing the boy from one end of school to the other.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' Rachel piped up timidly, her eyes flicking around nervously 'I share your anger at Jacob, I do, but perhaps this isn't the best way to-'

'I'm sure' Santana stated firmly as she eyed the door 'If that little freak thinks he can get away with this he's got another things coming. Besides, if I can get him to stop his little media-buzz and if there's a chance I can get him to print a retraction or whatever I have to try'

Rachel nodded her eyes cast downwards.

'I don't like it either okay?' Santana sighed 'I hate that I have to go in there and tell him to stop lying when it's really me that's lying but I don't have any other choice right now'

Looking up the singer nodded again but this time offered her girlfriend a sympathetic smile 'I wish there was something else we could do, that's all'

'Me too' the cheerio sighed raking a hand through her hair in frustration.

Collecting herself Santana gestured for Rachel to hide from view. Not bothering to knock Santana stormed into the room, she would have laughed at the look of terror on the boy's face as the door slammed against the wall but decided it would ruin the whole intimidating thing she was going for. Striding into the room Santana tried to over-look the desperate attempts he had made to plan a romantic breakfast and instead grabbed the bunch of flowers he had been clutching and threw them across the room.

'Surprise' the cheerio bark coldly as she towered over the smaller boy.

'Santana…I...what are you doing here?' Jacob stammered as he tried to edge away only to find himself backed up against a wall though even with the fear in his eyes Santana still saw him looking behind Santana hopeful that Rachel would miraculously appear.

'Oh you know, I figured this would be the perfect way to spend my Monday morning – hidden away in a damp pit of a room with a pathetic loser who spends all his time writing crap about me!'

'Okay, I think we should all calm down' Jew-Fro tried, waving his arms around in a gesture of surrender 'I can see your angry-'

'Great powers of deduction' Santana snapped as she let out a menacing growl 'But I didn't come here to listen to you. You are going to listen to me, got it?'

Jacob nodded, his eyes wide with fear 'Got it'

'You've been writing a whole heap of trash about me on your stupid little blogs, and it ends now. You had no proof, no evidence and no basis for any of your little stories'

'But-'

'I didn't say you could speak!' Santana shouted, silencing any protests 'Just because Frankenteen mouths off to you about me doesn't count for shit, you're going to stop writing about me and you're going to take down everything you've been posting'

'And what if I don't?' Jacob argued weakly, backing himself against the wall.

Santana raised an eyebrow before stating calmly 'If you don't I can guarantee I will make your life a living hell'

'You don't have that kind of power anymore, the jocks and the cheerios they'll turn against you and the rest of school too-'

Slamming a hand against the wall by the boy's head Santana scowled 'I don't need power to torment you, and I don't need anyone else's help. I can do it all by myself'

Nodding furiously the young boy shifted nervously, he opened his mouth to speak but seemed to think better of it and snapped his mouth shut against.

'Spit it out'

'Even if I do take down the posts…everyone's already seen them, my sites had more hits in the last few days then every other day combined. You're hot gossip Santana, the people want what they want and you might be able to force me to stop talking but you can't stop them. Besides I didn't do anything wrong, not really, I mean these been rumours floating around about you for a long time I simply-'

'Shut up' Santana grimaced 'We might not be able to stop all the rumours but taking those posts down is a start. Do we have a deal?'

Seeing the boy nod Santana spun on her heel and quickly stormed out of the room, making sure to slam the door shut on the way out to hammer home exactly how seriously pissed she was. It had been a long time since she had needed to bust out her most intimidating persona but she was confident Jew-Fro would do the right thing and follow her orders. He might act big and tough hiding behind the internet but even with the gossip flying around he was still terrified of the cheerio. After all her reputation more than proceeded her.

Striding up the hallway Santana felt Rachel fall into step with her and slowing her pace the cheerleader allowed herself to relax a little. She could feel the blood pulsing through her, she hated having to resort to hiding away and lying, it was heartbreakingly unfair that her happiness was vastly outweighed by the threat to her safety. She wondered how Kurt ever managed it.

'Are you okay?' Rachel asked quietly as the two girls stopped in the deserted hallway.

Santana nodded, her eyes focused in the distance as she lost herself in her increasingly depressing thoughts.

'Santana' the diva stated, placing a hand on the cheerleaders arm to get her attention 'Look at me'

The Latina blinked, her focus drawn back to her girlfriend.

'I know this is hard, but it's going to be okay. Jacob is going to take down those horrific blogs of his and the rest of the sheep in this school will move on to the next McKinley High scandal before you know it'

'Maybe' the taller girl mumbled 'But people are still going to think of me as the school lesbian, I'll be lucky if I don't get a slushy to the face every day'

Rachel sighed as she reached up to rest her hands on Santana's chest, smiling as the taller girl wrapped her arms around her 'Well if you do, I'll be here to help clean you up every day. I'm an expert'

Santana grinned mischievously, quickly trying to cover it up with a nod as she ducked her head.

'Seriously? We've having a sweet moment and you have to go and make it all dirty?' Rachel pouted playfully.

The Latina simply winked in response.

'Well in that case, I know this is highly inappropriate, but watching you acting like the Head Bitch in there was…' Rachel began, and Santana prepared herself for a lecture on threatening other students 'Hot'

The Latina barely managed to control her laugh as she pulled her girlfriend closer 'Yeah?'

Blushing the diva nodded as she checked her watch 'Yes. And by my calculations we still have a good twenty minutes before any other students begin to arrive, perhaps we should take this opportunity to go to the choir room?'

Santana rolled her eyes 'Seriously? We get alone time and you want to go and practise glee stuff?'

Rachel shook her head playfully, grabbing the taller girls arm and dragging her forwards 'That isn't exactly what I had in mind'

'Then what-' Santana stopped as her mind finally caught up, with a grin the cheerleader allowed herself to be towed forward 'Awesome'


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N – It's time for Santana to come face-to-face with the cheerios…some Santana/Quinn friendship here and then a whole bunch of PezBerry in the next few chapters! Enjoy **

**Zonex – I'm glad your enjoy the story, it's a lot of fun to write Santana's character as vulnerable instead of the normal HBIC so I'm happy I've pulled you in : D**

**Chapter Twenty**

It turned out that those stolen twenty minutes alone with Rachel in the choir room had been undoubtedly been the highlight of Santana's day, of course even on a great day they would probably still be the highlight but today had defiantly not been a great day. In fact Santana would go as far as to say today had been pretty much the worst day of her life. If the cheerio had thought spending the day hiding when the blogs first came out was bad then having to spend the day suffering through the looks and whispers was hell.

At first it hadn't been so bad, most of the student body were still petrified of the cheerleader regardless of rumours, after all Santana hadn't been lying to Jew-Fro earlier, she didn't need social power to be damn right intimidating. But it was the jocks and cheerios who were causing the most trouble. Santana had managed to stay clear of most of them for the first part of the day but Coach Sylvester had arranged for an extra cheerio's practice during lunch so it looked as though the Latina was going to have to face her fears sooner rather than later.

'Hey San' Quinn shouted as she walked down the hallways towards her friends locker 'You ready for practice?'

'That's a loaded question' the brunette responded as she dragged her things from her locker. Santana had seriously debated feigning injury and spending her lunch period in the nurse's office but she decided that she had spent enough time hiding away. She was sick of letting people get to her, so she was going to put on her head bitch façade and face down the squad. Coach Sylvester was an entirely different issue, one which Santana was hoping she could ignore until it magically went away.

'It'll be okay' Quinn offered as the two fell into step as they headed for the cheerio's locker room

'Right' the Latina said sarcastically 'You know I can't decide who I'm more excited to face, Coach or the mass of cheerio's out for my blood'

Quinn's response was cut off as Brittany bounced up alongside them 'Hey guys'

The two cheerleaders smiled and after a few pleasantries they found themselves outside the locker room. Santana hesitated as she watched a few girls pass her, they made no sign that anything was wrong and the brunette relaxed a little as the three made their way inside.

The locker room was as it always was, loud and full of energy and Santana wondered for a moment if Quinn had somehow managed to pull rank and get the rest of the cheerios to fall in-line. After all most of the other cheerleaders looked up to Quinn, Santana and Brittany they were the best girls on the squad and it wouldn't take much to pressure the others into silence.

The three friends got ready quickly, changing their shoes and throwing their belongings into their lockers. When the two blondes were ready they both looked up expectantly, Santana was slower today her hesitancy and nerves getting the better of her that and she was constantly looking over her shoulder in anticipation of a sneak attack from one Sue Sylvester.

'You want us to wait?' Quinn asked casually, even as her eyes flickered around the room trying to detect any potential threat.

Santana shrugged, she didn't want to seem weak but on the other hand she also didn't want to risk causing a scene. Battling with her thoughts the Latina sighed 'Nah, you go on ahead I'll be fine'

'You sure?' Quinn pushed,

'Positive. Go' Forcing a smile the brunette watched her friends reluctantly head out to the field, Santana wanted to call out to them but her pride made her stop. She didn't need protection, she was Santana Lopez and she could handle any trouble. That was her mantra at least, though her racing heart said otherwise.

Quickly tying her shoe Santana took a calming breath. She might be worried about the rest of the team but it was Coach Sylvester who was weighting more heavily on her mind and she was so distracted by thoughts of the older woman she didn't notice the girls approaching her.

'Lopez!'

Santana twisted around and found herself face-to-face with three members of the squad, she vaguely remembered their names and was pretty sure they had some classes together but they had never really spoken before.

'Is it true?' Casey sneered as the girls surrounded Santana.

'Is what true? The Latina replied breezily in an attempt to sound nonchalant.

A second girl drew Santana's attention as she stepped forward menacingly 'You know what we're talking about, the blogs might have mysteriously disappeared but the whole school saw them. So is it true, you're gay?'

Santana gritted her teeth and standing her ground she snapped back 'Look, I don't know who you think you are or what you think you know but right now, I'm not gonna waste my time on some wannabe bitches so move. Now'

Santana wished she felt as confident as she sounded, but on the inside she knew she could be pushing her luck, after all she was outnumbered.

'You don't deny it then, huh?'

Glaring Santana rolled her eyes in disgust hoping the three girls would simply drop the subject. She didn't want to deny the rumours, after having to force Jacob to delete his blogs the cheerio already felt as though she was pretending to be someone she wasn't, but right now all Santana could think to do was stay quiet and try and out bitch the girls.

Santana was so caught up in her conflicting thoughts that she didn't see the shove coming, stumbling back the brunette felt her back connect swiftly with the metal locker behind her sending a wave of shock rushing through her body.

'What the hell-'

'Shut up' Shannon shouted as the trio advanced 'Ever since that stupid blog came out we've been getting nothing but shit, you know what the other squads are calling us? The Queerios. And that's your fault!'

'It's not my fault they're ignorant douchebags' Santana shouted, standing tall as she squared up against the group.

'You turned us into a joke!' another girl continued, ignoring Santana 'But it's better than trying to turn us into one of you I guess'

'Fu-' Santana tried to argue back but her voice was quickly drowned out by the others.

'It's disgusting that you're even allowed in here, do you get off on watching us all change? I can't believe Coach hasn't kicked you off the squad yet…'

'You think any of us what you around? Coping a feel every time there's a lift in the routine?'

Santana's head was swarming with the insults as her eyes flicked from one girl to the next, each spewing more pathetic insults and gesturing angrily. Taking a step back the brunette found she had no more room and realised the three blondes had managed to back her into a corner. She didn't even see the first fist come flying at her but she did feel the pain shooting through her mouth as her lip split open.

There was a flurry of movement as Santana tried to remain upright, she didn't stand much of a chance though as the group came at her at once, overwhelmed by the mass of fists and feet flying at her Santana managed to get a few shots of her own in before she succumbed to the pain and was forced to the floor. The Latina winced, crying out when a particularly hard kick caught her solidly in the chest knocking the wind from her. It felt like an eternity, though in reality was a matter of minutes, before the sound of a girl's voice make them stop.

Gathering what remained of her strength Santana lifted her head hoping to see who had stormed into the locker room but she could only make out a small blur. Blinking sharply she finally managed to focus on the figure, her stomach dropped as she watched the girl stalk through the group coming to a stop and putting herself between Santana and the group.

'I seriously suggest you get the hell out of here right now'

Struggling to her feet Santana stood next to Quinn momentarily forgetting about the pain as her fear for her friend out weighted her own. She saw it coming this time but was to slow to stop it as Casey slapped Quinn hard, the sound snapped Santana out of her haze and leaping forward she stopped the second strike. Unfortunately the wounded cheerio could do little else and with a hard shove she found herself reeling back, it was chaos after that with Quinn desperately trying to protect Santana. The room span as the brunette heard move voices coming from outside.

The fighting stopped quickly but a face next to hers make Santana wince 'You tell anyone about this I swear to god we will come back and beat you down again, both of you'

Staring defiantly Santana remained silent as the trio quickly fled the room, the door slamming shut as people piled in from the other side of the room a fraction of a second too late.

'What the hell happened in here?'

Santana winced as Coach Sylvester's voice boomed through the locker room, echoing off the tiles and reverberating in her head. She tried to stand but found new aches and pains shot through her as she moved and soon found herself slumped back on the floor, all too aware of the blood now splattered across the floor.

'Oh my god' Quinn whispered rushing to the fallen girls side. The blonde reached out grasping one of Santana's less battered hands with her own 'Are…are you okay? Is anything broken?'

The brunette shook her head slowly regretting the action instantly when her head began to pound 'No…I…Can you help me up?'

Quinn opened her mouth to protest but seeing the determined glare sent her way she swallowed her words and wrapped an arm around the Latina's waist. Brittany appeared on Santana's other side, her eyes wide with fear, and working together they hoisted the brunette to her feet. Santana chose to ignore the curious eyes of the rest of the squad as they observed the scene; she didn't know how many of them had been aware of what was going on. For all she knew the whole squad had planned the attack.

Coach Sylvester approached the three cautiously, Santana wanted to appear strong and locking eyes with the older woman she held that mask in place for as long as she could. It wasn't very convincing she knew, after all she was relatively sure there was blood running down her face in more than one place and if either of her friends let go she would be sent tumbling back to the floor. But still, she needed she claw back some kind of dignity, especially in front of Sue.

'Take her to the nurse' Coach Sylvester ordered, spinning on her heal to glare at the rest of the squad 'And what are you all gawping out, back on that field now before you all find yourselves running suicides for the rest of the year'

With that she stormed from the locker room, terrified cheerios hurrying after her as they shot each other questioning glances.

Santana shook as her senses roared back to life, 'Jesus, Quinn I-'

'You can thank me later' Quinn interrupted with a sympathetic smile 'For now, let's just focus on getting you to the nurse'


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N - A little filler chapter, mostly getting instead Santana's head. Up next, time to meet the parents…**

**Chapter Twenty One**

The nurse's room was cold and sterile and Santana hated the smell of disinfectant that always seemed to linger around. She had seen the inside of the room way to many times; numerous cheerleading accidents sending her seeking pain relief way all too often. But sitting on the edge of the bed now all the Latina could think about was Rachel. She had been staring off into space for a few minutes when Quinn's voice snapped her back to reality.

'San do you…do you want me to call Rachel?'

The Latina shook her head venomously 'No, absolutely not'

Quinn frowned, and staying silent she only had to raise an eyebrow in an unspoken question to get the brunette talking.

'I know, I just…' Santana trailed off as she looked up at the blonde with a sigh 'I don't want her to see me like this, it's kind of selfish to want her here right now'

'You're impossible sometimes' Quinn sighed with a gentle smile 'I might not know Berry all that well but I know she'd want to be here for you, you know that too and more importantly you want her here so don't be such an ass and let me call her'

Santana removed the ice pack she had been holding to her lip, it was true she did want her girlfriend in fact all she could think about was collapsing into the singer's arms but on the other hand she did not want to put Rachel through the horror of having to come to the nurses office and see how beaten she was. After all, Santana was supposed to be untouchable and even though that façade might not wash with the diva anymore Santana liked to think she could still appear strong. Rachel seeing her now would only upset both of them.

'I know what you're thinking' Quinn intruded whipping out her phone and tapping in a few numbers 'She isn't going to think any less of you, no-one could, she's tougher than you give her credit for too so; be quiet, stop thinking so much and let me make this frigging call!'

'If you're going to call Rachel don't bother I already did' Brittany piped up as she strolled into the room and took a seat next to her friend.

'What?' Santana questioned with a sideways glare.

'I know you S, and I know you want her here so I called her…well actually I had to go get her, I think my cat stole my phone again. But Rachel's' always in the same place at lunch so she was easy to find'

Santana cast a worried eye to the door opposite 'Britt, where is Rachel?'

'Oh she was right behind me' the blonde said puzzled 'But I was worried about you so ran all the way back here. She's little so she probably couldn't keep up. Are you okay?'

Santana nodded, her eyes downcast as she played off the seriousness of the situation 'I'm okay Britt but-'

Santana didn't get to finish her sentence as a loud gasp suddenly filled the room, the brunette couldn't bring herself to look up as she heard the hurried patter of small feet scurrying across the room and stop in front of her. Staring at the shoes in front of her the cheerio sighed 'Hey'

'Hey? Hey?' Rachel's shrill voice cut through the room and Santana found herself shrinking back a little at the panic in the small girl's words 'Brittany pulls me from the choir room telling me you've been in a fight, which clearly you have, and all you can say is hey? Seriously?'

Santana mumbled a vague apology as she shifted uncomfortably; all she wanted was to disappear from sight. She could feel all three girls looking at her, she knew it was a mix of pity and worry and Santana hated it. She hated feeling so conflicted when all she wanted to do was hop up off the bed and stride out the room with her head held high to show them she was okay, and at the same time all she wanted to do was completely fall apart neither of which was particularly helpful.

Santana sighed as she felt Rachel sit next to her, with Brittany on one side and her girlfriend on the other and with Quinn stood watching over them the cheerio felt like she had her own personal security team. When Rachel reached out and carefully took her hand Santana smiled, it as a small gesture but it meant everything.

Looking up Santana offered her girlfriend an apologetic shrug 'Sorry Britt dragged you here'

Rachel shook her head 'If I have to tell you one more time that being in a relationship means you get to lean on me then…I'm going to make you sit through the special edition of Les Mis my dad brought me back from New York last week and then again the director's commentary. And then mine'

Santana grinned as Rachel shifted to look seriously at the cheerio 'Yes ma'am'

Santana could almost hear the playful sigh of suffering from her girlfriend and could only smile in response before she turned her attention to Quinn 'How's the hand?'

'What?' Rachel asked in confusion as she spun to look at the blonde as if noting her presence for the first time.

'It's fine' Quinn replied casually as she removed her own ice pack to reveal her swollen knuckles, adding sarcastically 'Who would have thought cheerleaders would have such hard heads?'

Looking down sheepishly Santana 'I…You didn't have to wade in you know'

Rachel's eyes flicked between the two as she raced to catch up 'You were involved too?'

Quinn nodded 'I came back to put my phone away and I heard shouting, I saw you and I just….I should have waited with you, I had a bad feeling like something was going to happen but-'

'I told you to go Q, it's not your fault. Besides you were pretty fierce back there' Santana interrupted 'Thanks'

Quinn nodded, she knew how hard it was for her friend to have to sit there and acknowledge what had happened. With a quick wave of her hand the blonde made her way over to Brittney 'I've always got your back San'

Dragging Brittany to her feet Quinn pulled her towards the door 'But right now, I think we should get to class and leave you in the capable hands of your girlfriend…wait, that didn't sound right…'

Santana laughed as she watched Quinn and Rachel share an embarrassed look 'Sounds about right to me'

Letting out a groan of disgust Quinn stuck out her tongue playfully before disappearing from the room. As she listened to the two blondes walking away Santana was aware of the increasing silence in the room. She wanted to say something to break the tension but was drawing a blank. All she could think was how ashamed she was that it was only a day in and she'd already had her ass handed to her and hadn't been able to protect herself or more importantly, Rachel, from the ugliness that came with being out at McKinley High.

'This is gonna be rougher than we thought huh?' Santana finally said dejectedly.

Rachel nodded, tears already forming as she wrapped her arms gently around the shaking girl 'I guess so. Have you spoken to Principal Figgins yet, or Mr Shue, or Coach Sylvester?'

Santana shook her head 'I'm sure they'll come barging in soon enough though'

As if waiting for his cue Mr Shue came striding into the room a look of worry etched on his features as he laid eyes on his two students.

'I came as soon as I heard, are you okay? What happened?'

Santana sighed, glaring at the floor she replied 'I got the shit knocked out of me'

Santana watched wearily as he crossed his arms and began to pace the small room to work off some of his anger. She couldn't help but wonder why he was so upset, after all the two of them had never gotten along and although she knew he considered her one of 'his' kids via glee she had been pretty sure that he wouldn't be entirely devastated if she ever left.

'Why would anyone do this?' he muttered, looking up at the two girls suddenly.

'Haven't you been keeping up to date with the latest gossip? I'm a dyke' Santana answered bluntly, the pain her voice evident as she gritted her teeth and tried to fight back the tears 'Turns out the cheerio locker-room isn't exactly a hotbed of tolerance, go figure'

Neither of the girls had ever seen their teacher lost for words and if the situation hadn't been so serious Santana was sure she would have been revelling in her ability to finally shut him up.

'Mr Shue?' Rachel piped up, her eyes shifting nervously as she broke the silence 'If it's okay with you I think it would be best if we left this till tomorrow. I think I should take Santana home now, she's in no condition to-'

'That's fine' the teacher interrupted raising his hand to hold the younger girls rant 'I'll speak to Figgins for you, just look after Santana okay?'

Rachel nodded and quickly hopped up and grabbed their belongings 'Thanks'

Mr Shue nodded, walking forwards he stopped in front of the cheerio 'I'd like you to meet with Principal Figgins tomorrow morning, what happened today is unacceptable and we need to sort it as soon as possible okay?'

Santana nodded mutely, a million thoughts playing through her head not least the echoed threat whispered in her ear moments before.

'And I'll call your parents to fill them in on the situation'

'No!' Santana shouted startling the teacher 'You can't tell them what happened, they'll kill me-'

'They're your parents Santana, if you've been hurt they'll want to know about it and besides it's the schools responsibility to inform any parents of incidents of bullying-'

Santana shook her head venomously 'If you tell them about this then they'll want to know why and I can't lie to them'

'I can't-'

The cheerleader ploughed on ignoring his protests 'I don't want them finding out about me like this okay? They're going to be freaked out enough that I'm gay, they'll only be more terrified if I come home half-beaten I can't put them through that'

Mr Shue sighed as he looked at the young girl 'It's my duty to tell them there was an incident but I suppose…I could, downplay it a little. I won't tell them why or the details, that's up to you. But I will be calling them, understood?'

The Latina nodded gratefully, letting out a sigh of relief she slowly pulled herself to her feet. Ignoring the pain that shot through her she smiled 'Thank you'

Mr Shue nodded, he didn't look particularly happy as he turned and left the room but Santana chose to ignore that fact, instead she congratulated herself on having brought a little more time. She wanted to be honest with her parents, and she was going to tell them eventually, but she needed to wait for the right time. She knew they probably weren't going to take the news especially well and coming home bruised and battered would only give them more to be afraid off.

Santana didn't say anything as she followed Rachel out to the parking lot she simply concentrated on avoiding the rest of the student body as much as she could. Luckily with classes going on the school was deserted and they made it to her car unseen. On any normal day Santana would have pitched a fit at anyone with the audacity to urge her into the passenger seat of her own car but today she sat back and obliged her girlfriend, smiling as she watched the smaller girl slide into the driver's seat and start adjusting the seat.

As they pulled out of the parking lot Santana sighed 'I don't want to go home'

Keeping her eyes focused on the road the diva frowned 'Why not?'

'I just…I don't okay?' Santana replied defensively, crossing her arms 'Can we go to yours, please?'

Rachel nodded but stayed uncharacteristically silent. Santana knew the other girl wanted to push the subject but was holding back, it hurt the cheerleader to see the unease on her girlfriends face. Staring out the window she grimaced 'My house is empty okay, my parents work all the time and they're not around that much. I don't want to go and sit in silence waiting for them to come home so I can tell them I got my ass kicked'

Rachel swallowed hard as she took in her girlfriends words 'My Dad's will be at work but we have the house to ourselves until six'

Santana smiled softly as she reached over to place a hand on Rachel's leg, she didn't mean to snap but talking about her parents had always been a touchy subject. It wasn't that she had a bad home-life but her parents were consumed by their jobs and that hadn't left much time for their daughter over the years.

'I can go when they come back, its fine' Santana said quietly.

'You're welcome to stay for as long as you want, you know that' Rachel sighed 'I'm sure my Dads would love to finally meet you'

'Probably best to do the whole meet the parent's thing when I don't look like I've been used as a punching bag Rach, I'm not exactly looking forward to seeing my own let alone the in-laws'

Santana was trying to sound light-hearted and with anyone else she knew they would have bought the act but seeing the singer frown sadly the cheerleader was instantly aware she had failed. Santana had spent so long behind her mask of indifference and sarcasm that it was increasingly hard to break down the walls and tell Rachel what she was actually feeling. She knew it hurt the other girl and for that Santana hated herself but she was trying to slowly let Rachel in.

Staring out the window Santana bit her lip 'My parents…they work hard to provide everything, if there's something I want I know they'd get it for me but they spend so much time working and earning shit loads of money that they're never around. I never know when they'll be home, if at all, and when they are there it's….it's like they're strangers sometimes, y'know? We've barely spoken in months, and never about anything important, I don't want the first thing we actually talk about to be this. I know there's no way around it, but I can't help it'

Rachel nodded, steering the car down their street they passed by Santana's house and pulled into Rachel's driveway 'You can't put this off forever but until you're ready to go home, you know you're more than welcome here'

'Thank you' Santana whispered as Rachel pulled her into a loose hug, carefully of the Latina's beaten body.

'Do you think they'll be mad?' Rachel queried as she pulled back to look at her girlfriend.

'About the fight? Doubtful, it'd be surprised if Shue even managed to get hold of them; he probably just left a message on the machine'

'I meant…about us' the diva whispered, her eyes now glued downwards.

Santana frowned as she contemplated the question 'I don't think so…I don't think they'll care either way. But the two things combined, that's a different thing all together so one step at a time okay? I don't want them to equate our relationship with any kind of violence or hatred'

Rachel smiled, 'Okay'

'Good' Santana replied with a quick nod 'Now I'm pretty sure in this situation as the patient that makes you my nurse so…'

The dirty look on the cheerleaders face made Rachel blush, leaning in the singer placed a gentle kiss on her girlfriends forehead before moving down to capture her lips. Pulling back she mumbled 'You have a filthy mind'

'And you wouldn't have me any other way'


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N Hey all, sorry for delay in updating but what with xmas and new year I haven't spent much time on the computer. I have written the next couple of chapters and they will be up in the next few days, and you'll get to see a bit more of Finn/Glee club reactions to the fights.**

**On a less happy note it seems someone has been plagiarising my work/ I'm really grateful to justalittleimagination for drawing my attention it the story. I've left a review with the author and I'm hoping they will have the decency to at least re-write the chapter they have written which contain my dialogue ****it's pretty disheartening to work so hard on a story and have it lifted so easily and not exactly the most motivational thing in the world so I apologise if this chapter is not amazing…**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Santana grinned as she stretched out on the couch, feeling Rachel's arm draped loosely over her side the cheerleader let out a content sigh. They had been laying side-by-side watching an endless run of cartoons for most of the afternoon; in fact Santana hadn't moved once. Rachel had raided the kitchen for snacks, most of which were now nothing more than crumbs and empty packets in front of them, and so the two girls had been able to lose themselves in each other's company.

It was times like these, when Santana could relax and be herself that she wondered how karma had ever worked out so she ended up where she was. Leaning back to look up at Rachel, who was currently glued to a particularly eventful episode of SpongeBob, Santana smiled wishing they could stay as they were forever.

The sound of a car door slamming broke the cheerleader from her thoughts as she saw Rachel's eye's flick towards the door. The two were quiet for a moment as they listened, when Santana heard footsteps outside she panicked 'Please tell me that's a burglar'

Rachel rolled her eyes 'I think my Dad's home early'

Santana shot upright as quickly as she could, gasping in pain as she felt her muscles protest. She had been so comfortable before she had almost forgotten the day's events.

'Careful San' the diva scolded as she stood up and offer the other girl a helping hand.

Santana accepted Rachel's offer and with a little help she pulled herself to her feet, her body fighting her all the way. Catching a glimpse of herself in one of the houses many mirrors the cheerleader gasped. Her lip was split, and whilst it was no longer bleeding it was swollen and puffy and clearly having a competition with her left eye which was now an unsightly shade of purple. Raising her bruised knuckles Santana ran her fingertips over the scratch marks adorning the left side of her face and her neck trying to ignore the gash on her forehead.

The cheerleader was so wrapped up in her shock she didn't hear the door open, but she did hear the man's booming voice ring out through the house.

'Rachel? I'm home…whose car is that in the driveway?'

Santana quick turned her face away from the mirror, looking down in an attempt to hide her battered features she whispered 'Any chance I can still make it to the back door without being noticed?'

Rachel shook her head, squeezing the taller girl's arm in a comforting gesture she took a step towards her Dad 'Hey, how was your day?'

'Good sweetie, and yours?' Hiram replied his eyes falling on the stranger in his living room 'Who's your friend?'

'It was…eventful' Rachel supplied as she gave her father a hug before turning to gesturing across the room 'This is Santana. I hope you don't mind we took over the house but-'

'Of course I don't' the other man interrupted, 'Santana; it's nice to meet you. Are you in glee with Rachel?'

Santana closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, she still had her back to Rachel's Dad and until then she had been hoping that by some twist of fate she would be able to get away without him seeing her. But she knew now she was going to have to face reality.

Turning slowly the cheerleader looked up and tried to ignore the look of shock that passed over the man's features as she mumbled 'Yeah we're both in glee, it's um…it's nice to meet you too'

'I…what happened?' Hiram questioned as he looked between the girls.

'It's a long story' Rachel answered as she took her place at cheerleaders side 'But is it okay if Santana stays here a while?'

'Of course' Hiram replied quickly, 'But I don't understand what-'

'We'll explain everything Dad I promise, but maybe we should wait till Daddy gets home?'

Hiram frowned, his eyes were still glued on Santana who had resorted to staring at the carpet 'Okay, I'm going to go change, I called Daddy on my way out of the office and he's leaving work early too. He should be back in the next ten minutes or so, and when he gets here we'll talk about this okay?'

Rachel and Santana both nodded 'Thanks Dad'

'Is there anything you need Santana?' Hiram asked gently as he approached the Latina.

Santana was too shocked to answer at first, the last thing she had been expecting was any kind of sympathy or understanding. In fact the minute she had heard the car door slam she had been waiting to be thrown out, most parents saw her as a bad influence when she wasn't standing in their living room bruised and beaten, she could only imagine what Hiram had been thinking when he walked in on them. But apparently Hiram was one of those caring parents Santana had heard so much about and here he was offering his help. Swallowing the lump in her throat the Latina shook her head as she looked up at the man 'No, thank you sir. I'm fine, Rachel's been taking care of me'

'That's my girl' Hiram smiled.

Turning to make his way to the stairs he stopped at the bottom 'But if you need anything, just shout alright?'

Santana nodded, still thrown off by the friendly approach and slightly sceptical that he wasn't about to run up the stairs and call the police the cheerleader stayed silent. When Hiram finally disappeared upstairs Santana let out a loud sigh before sinking back down on the couch.

'I'm sorry, Dad almost never comes home early. He's like clockwork, Daddy too'

'It's fine' Santana mumbled shifting awkwardly her eyes flicking towards the door waiting for Rachel's other father to appear.

'You are a terrible liar Santana Lopez' the singer stated reaching out and linking their hands together.

'It's not one of my better qualities' the cheerleader admitted shooting her girlfriend a sad smile 'Do we have to tell them everything?'

Rachel sank down onto the couch bringing the taller girl closer to her 'I can't lie to them, and even if I could I don't think we can cover this up with a simple 'ran-in-to-a-door' story'

'What about I-fell-down-the-stairs?'

'This is serious San' the diva sighed with a shake of her head her frustration at her girlfriends reluctance evident.

Santana nodded, she had been holding on to a tiny flicker of hope that she could convince Rachel to twist the truth a little bit, but it seemed there was no way out. She was going to have the face down Mr and Mr Berry looking like a wounded puppy, not exactly the image she would have chosen. Santana grimaced when she remembered how her reflection had looked, how on earth could she ever convince the two men that she was a good girlfriend? After all, the normal characteristics she used to get people to like her had gone flying out the window on first impressions without her strength and charm Santana was pretty sure the two fathers would be showing her the door in no time.

'They'll understand' Rachel blurted out ruining the cheerios inner monologue 'You think they've had an easy time living in Lima? Believe me, they know what it's like to be singled out because you're different'

The cheerleader blinked as she looked up at Rachel 'I know they'll understand the…situation, if anyone would it's your Dad's. But I-'

'You?'

'What if they don't like me?' Santana asked, cringing when her voice came out small and nervous 'What if they think I'm a bad influence, or I'm dragging you into this? Or worse, that I'm dragging you into this and I can't protect you?'

'They won't think that because it is not true' Rachel stressed her eyes focused intently on the cheerio.

Santana shrugged dejectedly 'Look at me, I'm a mess. What parent in their right mind would want their daughter dating me?'

'San…'

'I mean Puck's mum hates me, Brittany's parents pretend to tolerate me and do a pretty unconvincing job at it and Quinn's parents literally banned me from ever setting foot in their house' the cheerleader rambled, throwing her hands up in defeat 'This is a bad idea, maybe I should come back when I'm not…like this. Or with a gift. Or I could pay Tina to pretend to be me and then we could-'

'You're rambling sweetie' Rachel interrupted as she reached out and clasped their hands together 'And rambling is my job'

'When I'm nervous I talk to much'

Rachel giggled 'I noticed, but your nerves are completely misplaced. My parents are going to like you because I do, regardless of how you look or what happened today I know they'll see you for the amazing person you are. I admit, there are better circumstances in which to meet your girlfriends parents but this is the situation we are in so we will deal with it together, okay?'

Santana nodded mutely, a little stunned by her girlfriends speech the cheerio smiled.

'Good'

The sound of someone coming down the stairs drew the girl's attention and Santana found her gaze automatically wandering to the floor in a vague attempt to hide her features. Even though the older man had already seen her once the cheerleader didn't want him to get used to seeing her like she was.

'Sorry to interrupt girls' Hiram said as he made his way to the front door 'But Rachel, your Daddy's here and I thought it might be better if I had a chat with him first'

Rachel nodded, throwing her Dad a grateful smile as he nipped out the front door to brief his husband.

'I think I'm going to be sick' Santana muttered as she buried her head in her hands.

'It'll be okay. I promise'

Santana nodded, raking her hands through her hair she tried to collect herself as she heard the front door swing open and two sets of footsteps enter the living room.

'Rachel, sweetie….are you okay?' Leroy asked as he quickly enveloped his little girl in a hug.

'I'm fine Daddy' the diva replied, pulling back slightly.

'And you must be Santana' the man continued.

Santana didn't miss the concerned tone in his voice and much like before she wished she didn't have to actually look at him, or more specifically that he didn't have to see her. But remembering her girlfriend's words the cheerleader bit her lip and looked at the second of Rachel's Dads. He was taller than his husband, and much more muscular too but something about him made Santana feel safe rather than intimidated, maybe it was the gentle smile or the way he looked much more worried than she had expected.

'Nice to meet you, sir' Santana replied, she didn't really know what to say but it was better than nothing and it seemed to work as the two men took their seats on the sofa opposite the two girls.

There was an awkward silence as the four observed each other, each waiting for the other to start speaking.

'I don't think I've ever know you lost for words Rachel' Leroy began, his voice finally breaking the tension 'So I assume this is more than a simple high school fight'

Rachel nodded, looking sideways at Santana before she began 'There was a fight but…it was far from…simple'

When neither girl was more forthcoming Hiram picked up the questioning 'What happened?'

Santana swallowed hard, looking at Rachel's Dads she knew that if they had to hear the truth then it should be from her. She might not feel strong at the moment but she was determined to appear it 'I was…attacked I guess, I was getting ready for practice and they came from nowhere'

'They?'

'Three of the squad, I'm on the cheerios' Santana elaborated, realising that for once she wasn't in her uniform 'The odds weren't in my favour and I got beat pretty bad, luckily Quinn was there or it would have been worse'

Hiram and Leroy nodded in unison and the Latina could predict the next question 'Why would they attack you?'

Santana bit her lip as she turned to Rachel, the diva nodding her encouragement.

'Because…because there's a rumour going around the school that I'm gay, which isn't so much a rumour as true'

Hiram blinked as he processed the words but Leroy look outraged 'This happened because you're gay?'

The shout echoed through the room and Santana shrunk back, tears stinging her eyes as she heard the truth spoken bluntly for the first time. It had been easy to pretend in her head that the attack had been about rumour and gossip but the fact was the three cheerleaders had attacked her based just on a blog. It didn't matter if she was gay or not, simply the threat of her being a lesbian had been enough to set them off.

'It's okay' Rachel soothed as she turned to wrap and arm around her girlfriends shoulder. Rubbing soothing circles the diva focused on Santana as her father continued.

'This is unbelievable, how can be people still be so close-minded? In this day and age, you would think that it would be better, safer' Leroy ranted, her hands gesturing angrily 'What did the school have to say? I hope that Principal of yours expelled them immediately!'

Rachel shook her head, 'We haven't spoken to them yet, Santana wanted to leave and I thought it would be best for her if we came here'

'That makes sense' Hiram replied, placing his hand on his husbands in an attempt to calm him 'Santana, what did your parents have to say?'

Santana tensed, her eyes downcast 'I haven't been able to get hold of them, and I…I don't…'

The Latina trailed off and Rachel picked up 'Santana would rather her parents didn't know the reason behind the fight'

Hiram nodded 'I'm guessing they don't know you're gay'

Santana shook her head.

'Or that you're dating our daughter' Leroy added.

Both girls shook their heads again before snapping their gaze over to the two men 'What?'

'We aren't stupid sweetie, all talk about it Santana…ever since you got back from your trip you spend every minute with her and you've also spent the last couple of minutes glued to her side in a more than friendly manner'

Rachel blushed as she took in their current position, her arm wrapped around Santana who was leaning against her, Rachel's other hand clasping on to the cheerio's.

'Oh'

'Not one of your more articulate comebacks' Hiram said with a smile 'But under the circumstance I think you can be forgiven'

'Are you okay with this?' the diva followed up.

Both men nodded 'Of course we are sweetie, we brought you up knowing you are free to be anything you want to be as long as it makes you happy, and we can both see that you have been happier lately than we have ever seen you'

Rachel flew up from her seat and bounced across the room to envelope her fathers in a tight hug 'You guys are the best'

For her part Santana sat still, a look of shocked on her face as she waited to one of the two men to tell her it was a joke. But it never came, instead the two men ushered Rachel back to her seat next to the cheerio.

'There is one things however' Leroy began his tone serious, 'Santana if you're parents aren't aware of the entire…situation, then I would like to accompany you to speak to the Principal tomorrow. You need someone with you to act in the capacity as a parent and although we have only just met, I hope you would accept my offer'

Santana blinked, her mind racing.

'I know it's rather…forward. But I am a lawyer, and I know a little about being a minority as well as being a big shoulder to cry on if needed'

Santana sat still, she could feel three sets of eyes on her but she felt incapable of forming words. It wasn't until Rachel nudged her that she managed to blurt out 'You don't hate me?'

It was the men's turn to look shocked now as they shared a confused look 'Should we?'

Seeing her girlfriend lost for words Rachel piped up 'No. And Santana would be happy to have you accompany her tomorrow, right sweetie?'

Santana nodded.

'Good' Leroy smiled, standing up and clapping his hands to signal the end of the discussion 'Now, I assume you're staying for dinner?' I make a mean lasagne'

It was Santana could do to nod before Leroy dragged his husband up and into the kitchen to give the girls some space.

'They don't hate me' Santana stated.

'I caught that bit' the singer chuckled.

The cheerio shook her head in response 'But they should….I mean, I made your life hell for a long time and now I show up here like this, how do they not want to throw me straight back out on my ass?'

Rachel smiled, reaching up to run an hand comfortingly through the dark locks shielding her girlfriends face the singer explained 'I tell my Dads a lot about school, glee…but some things I keep to myself. They know a little about the slushies and it hasn't exactly escaped their notice that I'm not a social butterfly but at the end of the day, the thing they have noticed the most is how you have changed all that in such a short space of time. You heard them, I'm happier now then I have been for a long time and that's because of you. I'm not saying there's not a chance they'll take the next opportunity to grill you about everything but they trust me to make my own decisions. If I like you then they will too'

'You're kind of amazing Rach' the taller brunette sighed, 'You're Dads too'

'Yeah, they are pretty awesome' the diva smiled, 'But Daddy might have exaggerated his cooking skills a little bit…'

Santana frowned 'What do you-'

Her sentence was cut off by the sound of the smoke alarm blaring out and the distinctly exasperated cry of 'You've only been in here five minutes how could you possibly have burnt anything?'

Rachel giggled as she reached over to grab the phone from its place by the sofa, 'So…you in the mood for Chinese?'


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

The next day at school was nothing short of hell. The whole student body was buzzing with the news that there had been a huge fight in the cheerio locker room and it didn't take a genius to figure out the rumours about Santana had something to do with it, the Latina had barely made it to her first lesson of the day before the questions began. She had put a quick stop to the few students who actually dared approached her but she couldn't stop everyone talking. The only thing she was glad of was that the story had somehow morphed from its original version of her getting her ass kicked to a full out brawl in which she took on six of the squad and walked out of it. Her badass reputation really came in handy sometimes, plus somehow Quinn had managed to keep out of the story which Santana was very thankful for. Whilst she wanted everyone to know the blonde had stepped up and shown the bravery and loyalty anyone would be proud of, she also didn't want her friend to get drawn in to the rumours and speculation.

By the time lunch rolled around Santana had officially had enough of the looks and whispers and was more than glad to head straight to the choir room for an informal glee meeting. Entering the room Santana noticed she was one of the last there, which wasn't unusual what was unusual was the flurry of activity as she walked in.

'Are you okay?' Mercedes began, quickly drowned out by a sea of voices.

'I swear to god if I wasn't a dude I'd go medieval on those chicks' Puck raged.

'Have you seen Figgins yet?' Quinn asked.

'Woah, guys come on now' Mr Shue piped up as he shooed the glee club away from surrounding Santana.

The teenagers reluctantly headed back to their seats, though they left the two in the middle suspiciously free. Feeling a hand wrap around her own the Latina relaxed and spun round to see Rachel beaming at her 'Hey you'

Santana grinned, ignoring the pain in her lip she leant forward and placed a swift kiss on her girlfriends lips 'Hey yourself'

Gently dragging the cheerio with her Rachel made her way over to the two vacant seats and the two girls soon found themselves surrounded by a protective circle of the glee club, although the other teens tried to look blasé about their obvious plan.

'Did my Dad say what time he was getting here today?'

'About three' Santana replied, picking nervously at a loose thread on her uniform 'Mr Shue's coming too'

'Good' the diva replied with a nod 'What about-'

Rachel's sentence was drowned out by a mass of angry voices around them, it took the girls a moment to realise why everyone was shouting.

'Finn, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here right now' Mr Shue said, waving his arms for everyone to be quiet 'After everything that's happened perhaps you should take a few days away from the club and-'

'A few days?' Rachel shouted 'He's the reason Santana was hurt, how can you even show your face?'

Finn shrunk back as the rest of the club backed Rachel up, Puck was refusing to sit down again and Brittany was having trouble restraining Quinn.

'I know I have no right to be after…but I heard what happened' Finn tried, his eyes focusing on Santana who so far had refused to look at him 'Please, I just need to say this and I'll go'

The pleading tone in his voice made Santana finally register his presence 'Fine, say what you have to say and then go but I swear to god if you say one thing about me and Rachel I will rip your overgrown head off'

The tall boy nodded, paling slightly at the anger in the Latina's words. Stepping forward he took his place in the centre of the room, the whole club were quiet now waiting to hear what he had to say. Santana could feel Rachel shifting restlessly next to her and reaching out she clasped their hands together to calm her down.

Finn coughed, he's eyes still on Santana as he took in the bruises on her face, make-up could only hide so much and it was evident to him that she had taken a pretty serious beating 'I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean very much, and it doesn't undo what I did but I needed to tell you. I never meant to start all this and I hate myself so much for being the reason that you got hurt'

Santana sighed, the sincerity in the tall boy's voice was evident and even though she wished she could stay angry she could feel it slipping away.

'What I said the other day about you not deserving Rachel was out of line because you do deserve her, you make her happy and…and that's all I want for her. It hurts that I can't be the one to put that smile on her face but I'm just glad she has someone that can. When I realised I'd lost her, I panicked and I said those things to Jacob out of fear, and it was stupid and ignorant and if I could take it back I could but I can't. But I swear to you, I'm going to do everything I can to make this right and to protect you from anyone else who thinks they can mess with you. You have every right to hate me and to tell me to stay the hell away from you but I…I needed you to know that I'm going to try and make this right'

For the second time in as many days Rachel was speechless and casting a look at her girlfriend she could see Santana was too.

It was Kurt who spoke first, surprising everyone 'It's hard to take your promises like this seriously when it's obvious you still don't fully understand the latent homophobia that seems to have been drilled into you'

'I don't-'

'First you uses the word _faggy_' Kurt ploughed on angrily 'And then _dyke_, how can we be sure anything you just said is actually a promise and you won't go and call someone a _queer_ ten minutes from now?'

Finn looked down in shame 'You have no reason to trust me about this I know that, but-'

'It's not about trust' Rachel shouted angrily as she bolted up from her chair and stormed across the room to square off with Finn 'You have no idea how much words like that effect people, how much they hurt or how much damaged they can inflict'

Seeing the smaller frame of Rachel square up against the lumbering frame of Finn should have been comical but the way the diva was lashing out made Finn seem to shrink back, his size no match for the diva's anger.

'I've lived my whole life hearing people call my Dads all kinds of horrible things, I've heard the names they call Kurt and I know the things people can and will say about Santana and about me but to hear them come from you is disgusting' Rachel shouted, jabbing a finger into Finn's chest.

Santana could literally feel the anger coming off her girlfriend in waves and moving from her seat the Latina placed herself between Rachel and Finn, placing her arms on the small girls shoulders she tried to calm the situation 'Rachel, you need to back off a bit'

'You're defending him?' the diva screeched.

'No. I'm really not, but this isn't helping anyone. We agreed to let him say what he had to say but I've kind of had enough of people yelling at each other recently so please for me?'

Rachel nodded reluctantly as she laced their hands together and allowed the cheerleader to take her back to her seat.

'I think it's best if you leave Finn' Mr Shue said quietly as the rest of the glee club watched.

Finn nodded, making his way to the door he heard someone shout his name. Turning around he saw Santana looking at him, still seated beside Rachel the cheerleader gritted her teeth as she stood once more and made her way over to him.

'It took a lot of guts to stand up there and say that and…look, I know you didn't mean for everything to kick off the way it did. I know you would never want me to get hurt either. And the fact is, I could sit here and yell at you about using hurtful names and calling me a…a dyke' Santana spat as she faced Finn 'But the truth is, I'm not exactly a stranger to using stupid names either. I don't know if I can accept your apology, what you did was brutal and hurtful…and it doesn't make any of this better but…you should stay'

'San' Rachel began to argue but was quickly silence by a look from her girlfriend.

'You should stay because if I can learn to stop being such an incredible douche, so can you' Santana added as she strode back over to her seat.

The group looked at her in shock, but the cheerleader simply shrugged 'It's pretty hypocritical of me to be angry at someone for calling me a name. Don't get me wrong I'm pissed he did it, and even more pissed he did it to a fucking blog but glee is supposed to be that place to learn and grow and all that crap right?'

Everyone nodded.

'Well who needs to learn and grow more than Finnocence here?'

'Good point' Kurt agreed, quickly followed by everyone except Rachel.

As Finn took a seat at the back of the room Rachel leant over and whispered in Santana's ear 'How can you be so understanding? He tormented you and your just letting it go?'

'I learnt from the best' Santana replied 'If you can forgive me then I can try and forgive him…besides if he pisses me off again, I'll make sure I don't step in and save him from you again'

'Yeah well…you better not' Rachel mumbled casting an angry glance behind her at Finn.

Santana chuckled as Mr Shue began on of his rambling speeches about some band she had never heard of and shooting Finn a warning look she wrapped her arm around her girlfriend and tried to focus Rachel who was already engaged in an argument with their teacher. She knew the diva was more angry than she was letting on but Santana knew that she was doing the right thing even if it didn't exactly feel like it right now.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N – Sorry for the delay between updates, I really struggled to write this chapter. I'm still not a hundred per cent happy with it. I think there will probably be around another one or two chapters of this story before everything is wrapped up **

**Anyways, enjoy…**

**Chapter Twenty Four**

Santana stood outside Principal Figgins office staring at the door in front of her, on one side stood Rachel and her father and on the other Mr Shue and the entire glee club.

'You didn't all have to come you know' Santana stated, rolling her eyes at the back-up 'I'm clinging to my badass reputation as it is, having a small army following me to see Figgins isn't helping'

'Shut up' Quinn answered with a playful roll of her eyes 'You love having an entourage'

Santana grinned 'That is true'

Looking at her watch Santana groaned as it hit three o'clock, she wondered who was waiting in the room for her besides Figgins. There was no way this was going to be a small meeting.

'Okay guys' Mr Shue said, waving his arms at the students 'You guys need to get going, we can't all be here'

'I still don't see why not' Rachel huffed as she crossed her arms 'I'm tiny, I could fit'

Santana chuckled as she reached out to brush a stray piece of hair behind the diva's ear 'That you could but humour me okay? I'll be out in a little while and I'll take you to Breadsticks'

'Okay' Rachel sighed, laughing when she heard the rest of the glee club answer as well.

'I'm not paying for everyone' Santana half-shouted as the glee club began to disperse. Her words were wasted though as she watched her friends amble away, probably more slowly than necessary. It felt good to know that they cared and that even if things didn't go her way with Principal Figgins that the club had her back.

'You ready?' Leroy asked interrupting the Latina's thoughts.

'As ever' Santana replied, giving Rachel one last smile before the diva reluctantly left her girlfriends' side and made her way over to sit on a nearby bench to wait.

'Did you talk to your parents?' Mr Berry added, hovering in front of the door as he looked at the young girl.

'Yeah, I told them it was no big deal and I think they bought it' Santana nodded, before awkwardly adding 'It's not exactly the first fight I've been in'

Leroy frowned but seemed to ignore the guilty admittance 'If you're sure that's what you want'

'It is' Santana answered firmly 'I'll come out to them in my own time, not because of something like this. I know they'll be okay with it, well…I doubt they'll mind either way but still they don't need to worry about this okay?'

'Okay' he agreed smiling at the plucky determination of the young girl 'Let's do this'

Stepping into the room Santana barely supressed the groan of displeasure as he eyes landed on Coach Sylvester who was stood by Principal Figgins desk apparently in the middle of one of her trademark rants. Her entrance seemed to halt the older woman however and taking her seat on one of the two sofa's adjacent to the desk Santana was flanked by Mr Shue and Mr Berry.

Glancing across the room Santana came face to face with the three cheerio's who had attacked her and three sets of parents each looking distinctly unhappy.

'Sue, if you could take a seat we can begin'

Coach Sylvester nodded and surprised Santana by sliding down on the couch next to Mr Shue.

'Now I am sure you all know why we are here. There was an incident yesterday lunchtime in which it is alleged that three of the cheerleading squad attacked Ms Lopez'

'Okay, look this is ridiculous' one of the parents pied out 'My daughter is not some brawler who goes around picking fights, if anything did happened then it was because she was provoked'

'Mr Dean I have a witness that named your daughter as one for the girls involved and I have the very evident damage to Santana that something did happen' Principal Figgins replied quickly 'I will not tolerate behaviour of this kind at my school, all students here at McKinley High have the right to feel safe and protected no matter what. Now I am aware of the rumours circulating the school that lead to this altercation and must make it clear that any bullying of any form will not be tolerated'

Santana felt herself cringing as one of the mothers spoke up 'What are you talking about?'

Figgins stumbled here and looked to Santana wearily, unsure if he was permitted to disclose the rumours.

'Someone wrote a whole bunch of crap about me being gay on the school blogs'

The room feel silent as the parents took in the news 'Is that true Courtney?'

Courtney nodded her eyes cast down to the floor as both her parents stared angrily at her; the same was being mirror by the other two families.

'Now in these circumstances I have no alternative but to enforce immediate expulsion to all three of you'

Santana raised her eyebrow as she looked at Mr Berry; she hadn't been expecting that at all, in fact she had been more than prepared to fight her case to get them even suspended for a week.

'Coach Sylvester also has something she would like to add'

Santana felt her breath catch as the blonde woman rose to her feet, she was intimidating at the best of times but here in this office she was damn right terrifying.

'You girls have brought shame not only to the squad, but to yourselves and to your parents. The cheerios' is about team work, I don't care if you're black, white, gay or straight as long as you can be tossed through the air like a Frisbee you're all the same. The team is about trust and you violated that when you attacked one of your own. Not only are you expelled from this school, but if I hear you so much as mention you knew the cheerio's I will sue you for every penny you have. Now I suggest you leave before someone says something they regret'

The girls' parents out up no arguments they each stormed from the office with their children in tow.

'Well, that went better than could have been expected' Mr Shue sighed with relief.

'Yes William I'm sure the elves that live in your ridiculous hair will be baking a celebration cake as we speak' Coach Sylvester snapped on her way to the door.

Mr Shue barely contained his annoyance as he muttered 'Thanks for your help Sue'

'Oh and Lopez'

Santana's eyes snapped to her coach, a wave of nausea rising up as she prepared herself for whatever was coming.

'As soon as you're healed up I expect you back at practice' Sue ordered 'But until then try and stay out of trouble, and I'll look forward to being deafened by the glee club version of whatever Indigo Girls song you find to massacre first'

'Yes coach' Santana replied with a grin.

Standing quickly Santana threw Figgins a small smile; she should have been happier but part of her still held the schools treatment of Kurt against the Principal. She knew that whatever had happened today that the fact was it took her getting a beating to get those girls expelled and Santana knew it wouldn't be the end of it.

'I think Mr Berry and I are going to stay and have a chat with Principal Figgins' the Spanish teacher said 'But don't let us stop you'

The Latina nodded and headed to the door before turning back to the two men sitting on the couch 'Thanks'

They both smiled as she turned and left the office.

'Santana'

Rachel's voice drew the Latina from her thoughts and she smiled as her girlfriend flung herself into her arms.

'That was quick, what happened? Are you okay? Why was Coach Sylvester there? Was she mean? Did she-'

'Okay' Santana laughed as she pulled back 'You need to cut back on the caffeine'

Rachel pouted playfully 'I only had three red bulls'

'You're too cute' Santana sighed 'And to answer your questions; yes it was quick, they got suspended, Coach was actually there to stick up for me and no she wasn't mean. Well not to me anyway'

Rachel blinked at the quick succession of answers 'Oh. Good'

'It was kind of surreal though' the Latina continued as the two made their way out of the school 'I kind of expected her to go crazy at me for ruining the cheerio's reputation'

'I have to say Coach Sylvester is hard to predict sometimes but…you're one of the best girls on that squad, if not the best, and I'm not saying that because I'm your girlfriend everyone knows it, so it makes sense she would defend you besides' the diva explained as she unlocked her car 'Coach Sylvester is a lot of things but when it comes down to it she always seems to pull through'

Santana smiled as she slid into the passenger seat 'It was kinda cool to have her in my corner'

Rachel grinned 'You've got a whole bunch of people in your corner now'

As the sort of the engine humming to life filled the car the Latina sighed 'Still…I can't help thinking I got off easy you know? Kurt gets been getting crap every day and no-one did jack-shit'

'Well…maybe now we have a chance to change that' Rachel said, her eyes focused on the road as she smiled 'I'm not saying we can change the world over-night but I think that even the rest of the school knowing that badass Santana Lopez is gay might make it easier for others'

'I think your over-estimating my badass-ness'

'You think?' the diva asked, her eyes flicking briefly to her girlfriend 'Did you hear some of the rumours about what happened with you can those girls? I'm pretty sure one of them involved you putting someone through a locker'

The Latina chuckled 'Seriously?

'Seriously' the diva nodded, 'You're reputation defiantly proceeds you, rumours or no-rumours people generally don't mess with you'

'Well that's good to remember' the cheerleader laughed as she reached over to grab her girlfriends hand, intertwining their fingers she smiled 'Now I believe I promise you some Breadsticks?'

Rachel grinned 'Now that sounds like the best thing I've heard all day'


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N – Okay guys so here is the last part of this story, originally it was going to be one last chapter but I can't seem to let go and it spiralled into something a little longs so it's split into two parts.**

**A massive thank you to everyone who has followed this, it means a lot that people take the time to read my work. I know there's been a fair amount of spelling/grammar errors but thanks for seeing past it all and sticking with me. All your reviews/alerts made this a real pleasure to write!**

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

'I think I'm going to explode' Santana groaned as she flopped down on her back in the middle of Rachel's bed 'Kill me'

The smaller girl giggled as she slipped off her shoes and gently lay down next to her girlfriend 'You did eat your body weight in Breadsticks, although I think Puck might have set some kind of record'

'The boy can eat' Santana agreed, staring up at the ceiling as she wrapped an arm around the diva and drew her closer.

The two were quiet for a moment before Rachel sighed softly, Santana knew she shouldn't ask when she already knew the answer but the question had sprung forward before she could stop it, 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing I…I just wish we could be like this all the time you know?' the diva mumbled as she buried her head against the Latina 'Sometimes when we're with the rest of the club I forget that any of the bad stuff exists'

'Me too' Santana sighed 'But I guess we're lucky, some people don't have a safe place at all and no-one else has you so I'm pretty much thanking the universe for my good luck every day'

Rachel smiled as she pulled back to rest on her elbows, staring down at her girlfriend she nodded, a serious look on her face 'You are pretty lucky to have me'

'And I'm sure you'll remind me of that everyday' Santana grinned playfully as she stole a quick kiss.

'Sometimes twice' Rachel joked.

Santana chuckled as she felt Rachel return to her position snuggled against her side, the quiet calm of the room was broken suddenly by the loud beeping of the Latina's phone. Rolling her eyes the cheerleader reached down and fished the phone from her pocket, her eyes scanned the screen briefly before she let out a small sigh.

'Everything okay?' Rachel asked, her fingers tracing a gentle pattern on her girlfriends arm.

'Yeah, it's nothing just…Puck, y'know'

'I thought we established how terrible you are at lying?' the diva scolded, her hand stopping its movements.

Santana grimaced, she really did hate lying to her girlfriend and she really hated being caught lying to her 'It's not important Rach, just some jerk-off telling me I'm going to hell for being a queer blah blah blah…'

Rachel shot up from her position to stare at the taller girl, with a growl she grabbed the phone and quickly read the offending message, along with several others that had been sent recently 'Why didn't you tell me about these?'

'Because…I-I kind of liked living in the world where ignorant bigoted jerks get what's coming to them for once, it doesn't happen often enough y'know? Why spoil it by remembering that there are still other people at school sending me hate messages and writing shit about me?'

'San…'

The Latina shook her head as she took her phone back 'Forget it please. I'm changing my number tomorrow anyways so let them waste their time and energy. But me? I'm not wasting any more time on hate, it's exhausting and I have way better things to do'

'How can you be so level-headed about this?' Rachel asked enviously.

Santana chuckled 'I'm not exactly there yet, but I'm trying. A little faux-confidence never hurt right?'

'I guess…'

'Besides, with Coach Sylvester on my side I get the feeling the morons at school will back off. Figgins might be useless, today excluded of course, but no-one messes with Coach. Ever. Although I think she's probably compiling her own list of Ellen-based jokes as we speak'

'Better the devil you know right?'

Santana nodded 'Exactly. And who knows maybe the guys will lay off Kurt a bit too'

'Faux-confidence?' Rachel asked, her voice laced with a tinge of sadness.

'Probably' Santana sighed 'But it can't of made anything worse I guess. It's not like I'm expecting to change the world overnight but…I can hope right?'

'We both can' Rachel agreed, her next words cut off as the sound of Santana's phone beeping rang through the room again.

The Latina had to smile at the way Rachel glared at the object, checking the caller ID she frowned in confusion but managed to give Rachel a comforting glance 'Relax, it's my Mum'

Flipping the phone open the Latina barely managed a greeting before her Mum began barrelling off an excited, an incredibly loud, rant. Holding the phone away from her ear in surprise Santana giggled at the look of confusion on her girlfriends face. She was almost too distracted by the way the diva's forehead crinkled as she frowned and glanced between the cheerleader and the phone to hear what her Mum was actually saying, shaking her head she tried to focus.

'Ay dios mio Mama, ¿Hablas en serio?' Santana drawled as she de-tangled herself from Rachel to sit up.

For her part the singer shifted slightly to sit cross legged next to her girlfriend, smiling when the cheerleader reached out to link their hands together.

Rolling her eyes light-heartedly Santana tried to ignore the way her girlfriend was staring at her as she spoke to her Mum. She never normally spoke in Spanish in front of anyone else, she loved being bilingual but she only used her first language around her family and of course to help Brittany with her homework, but she kind of liked the effect it was having on Rachel.

'No entiendo pero-' Santana said, growling a little as she was interrupted 'Sí Mama-

Rachel giggled as the Latina was once again silenced, she could just make out the sounds of the older Lopez talking away on the other end of the phone.

'Ok, ok' Santana finally relented with a smile 'Nos vemos mañana'

Hanging up Santana didn't have time to process any of the conversation before Rachel pounced on her, the singer giggling as she moved to straddled the other girl. Bending down she brought their lips together, 'I have no idea what you just said, but that was extremely sexy'

'Then I'll make sure to take advantage of my cunning linguistic skills as and when I can' Santana joked, enjoying the blush that crept up Rachel's cheeks as she caught the double meaning.

Swatting the Latina gently Rachel moved back so they were once again side-by-side, 'Funny. So, what did your Mum want?'

'Well she's coming home early from her business trip and my Dad managed to get the rest of the week off work. She wants us to have like, a family dinner tomorrow night…'

'And that's a bad thing?' the singer pressed, sensing the hesitancy.

'No…it's just, well I think they're doing it so they can meet you' Santana finally managed to say, the shock of her Mum's offer still sending her reeling 'She said that it was about time they met the girl who was kind enough to let me stay with her'

Rachel blinked as she pulled back to look at Santana, a flash of hurt marring her features 'You don't exactly sound happy about that idea but I guess-'

'No Rach it's not that' Santana interrupted quickly, holding her hands up in self-defence as the diva clearly got the wrong gist 'It's just my parents don't usually ask to meet any of my friends, combined that with the whole family dinner thing and it almost sounds like they're starting to care about me and my life which is pretty shocking. I mean when my mum is actually home she tries but I don't know…it sounds too good to be true'

Rachel smiled 'Well she's trying, that's got to count for something right?'

'Of course, it's just been a long time since we did anything as a family'

'Oh' Rachel stated with a slight frown 'Well in that case I would completely understand if you would rather I didn't join you, after all I would hate to intrude on a family affair especially as they aren't common place for you and your parents so-'

'I want you to come, and you are the guest of honour' the cheerio interjected, chuckling at the surprised look she received 'So quit babbling and start thinking about you're going to wear'

'You do?' Rachel beamed in delight as she clapped her hands together, the happiness suddenly draining from her face as she sprung up from the bed.

'What's wrong?' Santana asked in panic as she bolted upright.

'I have nothing to wear!' the diva shrieked as she flung herself across the room and began rummaging through her closet 'Oh my god, what should I wear?'

Santana groaned as she flopped back down on the bed with a smile, this was going to be an interesting dinner.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Santana tapped her hands against the steering wheel as she gazed at the house in front of her, her eyes darting around nervously as she willed herself to move from her seat. She had been sat outside her own house with Rachel for probably way longer than was necessary and she could sense her girlfriend's agitation at their increasing tardiness.

'Okay and if either of them says anything about baby photo's then I swear to god-'

Rachel sighed as she reached over to pry one of Santana's hands off the wheel 'Sweetie, we've been over this a hundred times. I promise you I am very good at dealing with other people's parents and I promise I won't let them break out the baby photo's'

'Right' Santana said with a nod 'Let's do this'

Taking a deep breath the Latina finally opened her door and got out of the car, scurrying round to the other side she waited for her girlfriend before heading for the front door. She could feel her heart pounding with each step and before she knew it her hand was reaching for the front door and they were walking inside.

They had barely made it past the threshold before a woman's voice ran out 'Mija!'

Santana's face lit up as she watched her mum barrelling down the hallway towards them, she might not be around that much but when she was the older Lopez tried her best to make up for her absence. Letting her mum scoop her up into a big hug Santana grinned 'Hola mama, ¿Qué tal?'

The two exchange a brief greeting before Santana remembered the girl standing next to her, blushing slightly she threw an apologetic smile at the singer as she gestured to her 'Sorry, mama this is Rachel she's a…friend from glee club that I've been staying with for a bit'

'It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Lopez' Rachel said, her formality quickly cut off as the older Lopez woman wrapped her in a welcoming hug.

'Please call me Carmen' the older Lopez replied before turning back to her daughter 'You didn't tell me your friend was _the_ Rachel Berry'

Santana stuttered as her eyes flicked between the two women in front of her 'Well I-'

'Santana sent me a video of you all performing at regionals, you were fantastic and you were clearly robbed of Nationals!'

'Oh I…thanks Carmen' Rachel said nervously as she tested out the informal name.

Sensing Rachel's uncharacteristic nervousness Santana swept in 'Is Papi around?'

Mrs Lopez's face fell at her daughters words 'Oh mija, I meant to call earlier. There was an emergency at work and he had to go in, but he promised he would be back in time for dessert'

Santana tried to cover up her disappointment as she plastered a fake smile on her face but it did little to mask the hurt 'Sure, right…erm, was there anything you needed us to help with?'

'Ana he didn't want to go but you know how it is-'

'It's fine' Santana stated firmly, her natural defences already springing into action at the familiar sense of being let down 'Look, if you don't need us then I'm going to show Rachel around okay?'

'Okay' Mrs Lopez agreed with a sad nod 'Dinner will be ready soon though'

Santana barely acknowledged her mum as she reached for Rachel's arm and tugged her forward; as they ascended the staircase the cheerleader gritted her teeth trying to hold back the tears. It was stupid really, to get so upset over something that she knew was going to happen but still, she had let herself get her hopes up, something she promised herself she wouldn't do anymore, only for them to be smashed back down.

As the two entered Santana's bedroom she tried to swallow down her frustration 'So you survived the first encounter with my Mum, well done'

Rachel nodded as she watched Santana flop down onto her bed 'She seems nice, I'm-I'm sorry about your Dad though, I'm sure-'

'It's fine' Santana interjected her tone sharp as she glared at the ceiling.

Rachel walked over to sit beside her girlfriend; reaching out tentatively she took her hand 'Except that it's not'

Santana let out a bitter chuckle 'I should realised it was too fucking good to be true, you'd think I'd learn but no, I actually believed that we could have one normal night as a family'

'He could still make it, your Mum said-'

'She always says that' Santana revealed, her voice quieter now 'When I was little she used to say he'd be back before we finished cooking, then before we started eating…then dessert. Eventually I realised that once he's gone, he's gone. Work comes first'

'I'm sorry' Rachel offered as she reached over to wipe away a stray tear from her girlfriend's cheek 'But at least your Mum's here, she's trying'

Santana sat up; leaning on her elbows she sniffed 'Yeah, I guess'

Rachel smiled as she tugged Santana up and off the bed 'Good, so it would only be right that we went and helped her with dinner'

'But she said she didn't need any help' Santana groaned as she was pushed out of her room 'Can't we just hide up here? I can think of way more fun things to do-'

'Don't try and persuade me San, we are helping and that's final. I wouldn't want your mother to think badly of me'

The Latina chuckled as they headed down the stairs 'Pfft, she loves you; after all you are _the_ Rachel Berry'

Rachel felt her face redden 'I don't think anyone's every referred to me as _the_ Rachel Berry in a good way before, I think your mother and I will get along very well'

'Suck up' Santana teased as they reached the bottom of the stairs, drawing her girlfriend closer she leant forward and brought their lips together. It was meant to be a short kiss but as seemed to happen a lot the kiss deepened. Rachel had just wrapped her arms around the cheerleader's waist when a voice rang through the house.

'Girls, dinner is….' Carmen's voice trailed off as she rounded the corner and saw the two girl's locked together 'Ready'

Springing apart the two brunettes gasped, knowing it was pointless to try and deny what her mother had seen Santana took a deep breath 'I…I didn't want you to find out like this'

It wasn't exactly much of an explanation but it was the truth, Santana had envisioned coming out to her parents a lot, especially over the last few days, and this was definitely not one of the top ranking options. Silence hung in the air as Mrs Lopez looked from her daughter to the increasingly uncomfortable girl next to her.

'I'm very sorry Mrs Lopez' Rachel began, and Santana relaxed a little as the singer began to speak – it was more than a little unnerving when the singer was quiet for longer than a few minutes 'I think that I should probably leave-'

'No!'

Santana felt her eyes go wide as she looked at her mother who had matched her outburst.

Carmen smiled, taking advantage of her daughters shocked silence she stepped forward 'There is no need for you to leave Rachel, I invited you to dinner and you should stay especially since it seems you are more than friends with my daughter'

'Really?' Rachel squeaked, her normally faultless voice failing her.

'Of course' Mrs Lopez replied warmly 'Now come on, the food is getting cold'

Ushering the girl's in front of her the three made their way to the kitchen and took their seats around the table. It was quiet for a moment as they all helped themselves to food and Santana couldn't help but shift restlessly in her chair as she poked at her dinner.

'Ana will you please stop fidgeting' Mrs Lopez asked calmly 'And you're supposed to eat food not poke it'

Rachel bit back a giggle as she eyed her girlfriend.

'I…I don't get it' Santana said finally 'We're just going to sit here like nothing happened?'

Mrs Lopez shook her head as she reached for her drink 'What would you like me to say? That I'm surprised? Because I'm afraid that would be bit of a lie mija'

'What's that supposed to mean?' the cheerleader sulked as she stared at her mother.

'It's not as though I haven't had my suspicions, you might think you're hard to read Ana but having watched you grow up I have to say that you have always been very, very…'

'What?' Santana pressed.

'Gay' Mrs Lopez replied quickly with a grin as she shared a knowing look with Rachel 'And I bet I'm not the only one who knows you that sees it'

For her part the cheerio, barely managed to blink in shock 'Wh-I-…How?'

'Oh come on, when you were five you cried because one of your friends got you a Ken doll and told you he had to marry your Barbie. When you were eight you told me you were going to marry your teacher Miss Carlen and only last month I overheard you telling Brittany that you were never watching Grey's Anatomy again because Arizona would clearly never have left Callie to go to Africa'

Santana was pretty sure her face had never been a darker shade of red, feeling her girlfriend trying desperately to hold back her laughter the Latina crossed her arms and huffed 'Point taken'

Rachel giggled as she reached over to pat her girlfriends' shoulder 'It's okay, I threw my entire Buffy boxset out after Tara got shot'

Santana tried to hide her smile as she looked at the tiny diva 'That actually makes me feel a little better'

'Mija, as long as you are with someone who makes you happy that's all that matters to your father and I' Carmen said 'Now, finish your food because I have got the best vegan-friendly ice cream hidden away in the freezer and if you don't hurry up I'm eating it all to myself!'

Santana grinned as she picked up her fork and commenced shovelling her food, reaching under the table she ran her hand over Rachel's thigh, settling it to rest of her knee she sighed contently when she felt the singer reach down to clasp their hands together.

There may be a lot of things Santana wished she could change; she wished her Dad was around more and that her mum didn't have to be away so much, she wished the ignorant morons at school would stop giving her a hard time, she wished Mr Shue would stop wearing those fricking vests…but right now things were looking pretty good and she knew a big part of that was done to the girl sitting next to her. Rachel had given her something that few other people had, a second chance, and Santana was determined not to screw it up. The rest of the world could say what it liked but Santana smiled as she realised that she just didn't care what anyone thought as long as Rachel was by her side she knew things would be okay in the end.

**A/N – So that's the end, a massive thanks again for reading guys! **


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